DCMK Revisions
by DescriptivePessimism-DAA
Summary: Or in which an author gets plot bunnies from any little tidbit of off-handed comments or deliberately given scenarios. [Or the compilation preview of each fic idea that went in my head.]
1. RI1: Polymorphic

**|Polymorphic|**

**(Random Idea 1)**

Five years ago, Kaito made a vow.

_He made a vow_ of mutual agreement, trust, and protection.

Both of them had unnerving parallel lives, living a lie while trying to force the truth and justice that has been obscured in darkness. No matter the cost it would tax from them. Both aiming to defend and seize from opposite sides of each other—even if their end goal was the same, surrounded by the spiked shadowy webs of _Their_ hands.

(He wanted to offer a join of forces, he didn't have the chance.)

.-.

He made a vow as the crowd dressed in black dispersed around him one sunny morning, all of them faceless as his eyes would only lay on that piece of cemented tomb, a pair of incense sticks lit and making a steady, soft stream of smoke rise and dissipated.

…

That day had haunted and imprinted itself on his mind, an unforgiving memory that refused to be buried with its source. Always clawing up like a desperate entity that mulled and loomed knowing as if he forgot, he would make the same mistake again.

Any memory of him—would be tainted in that crimson red as it beamed and painted the skies with it's bright, and angry color. Ruthlessly, and relentlessly consuming everything in its path as it raged on, starved to lick upon soft, fragile flesh. Tainted with a dull tall building caving in on itself, giving in to the destructive machinations of man. Tainted with the loud horrified screams, shrieks of metal and concrete, the shattering glass, and the horrible sound of loud explosions that shook the ground. Tainted with the memory of hearing his voice in a state so out of place—so vulnerable that he wished he never heard it. Tainted with the memory of adrenaline followed by disappointment.

—Tainted with _grief_, and _regret_.

_Too late_…

…

When the last of the crowd disappeared, he and his own group were about to retreat when _they_ come in, and with them came a legacy.

(_Disappointment, rage, and pity…_)

The moment he laid his eyes on _him_—that familiar shade of dark, sapphire blues—he knew he wouldn't let go. _He couldn't_.

(_Hope, attachment, protective, and promise…_)

So, he made a vow on that afternoon as the sun was about to set behind his back, illuminating the grieving family in front of him.

He would protect that legacy.

.-.

(_Though he didn't actually expect that he would be given a chance to constantly do so._)

…

He made a vow on the detective's grave.

He _swore_…

_Retribution…_

_Justice…_

_Protection…_

To _never be too late_.

(_And he damned as hell will make sure that he can keep that promise._)

.-.

But of course, much like his predecessor, the legacy is as much of a trouble-maker and trouble-magnet.

He's blaming the detective if any of them got hurt in the process—because it should be _illegal_ for charges to disappear out of blue, and the measly second it took for the boy to pull a disappearing act. It was also so like his detective, and so like _himself_ that Kaito would be proud if he wasn't too worried and paranoid when his thoughts plummet to the worse of things.

So, here he was; running through the late night streets, with his friends somewhere split up as they all conducted their search for the boy that has been with them for almost five years—not to mention today is…

He shakes his head, he'll do that later, he needed to find _him_ first.

.-.

It was only with the last resort of convincing himself to think much like his detective that he finally had a clue to his charge's whereabouts. And immediately he rushes off to plow after the new lead, not even bothering to stop for a second to inform his friends of this development. No, he was too busy scaling a building to get to the top.

If his deductions and _intuition_ were right, the boy should be there.

_And he was_. The seven-year-old's back was turned to him; dark brown hair whipped with the breeze, making it look like a curly mess—but he wouldn't be Kaito if he couldn't recognize his charge anywhere.

"There _you_ are…" he breathes. "You had me worried sick…" he doesn't care if he had practically abandoned all pretense of his Poker Face, sagging in relief.

"_Now, that isn't your script, Kaitou 1412."_ Kaito stops just a few steps away from the boy, _sure_ him being Kid wasn't news to the boy. But the way he spoke tugged at something inside him, _something achingly familiar, a feeling associated to—_No, _that _wasn't possible. So he slams on that hopeful idea and buries it.

"You…" he trails off, uncertain—_what could he say in this situation anyway?_ "Now's not the time for that, we need to go back now." Kaito really expected it when the boy ignored him, simply moving to set something down, _a can? Did he buy a drink while—not now, Kaito!_

"Just… _what are you doing?_" it almost pained him to say it _here,_ _on this night_, and _almost the same circumstance_. Because there was no way he could recreate—

A spark, _a lighter? What was he doing with—_his breath hitches.

The boy had turned to face him, a familiar pair of spectacles glinting on his face, accompanied by an equally familiar tilt of a smirk and the sharp calculative blue eyes behind those frames.

And Kaito tunes out the wind when his ear latches on to the ever familiar whistling noise. There's a small explosion of the ever familiar color combination behind the boy. Even if he has only seen such combination once, but his brain short-circuited, once more tunneling to his charge. About to _speak_, demand—_what was he thinking? Why was he doing this?_

But the boy beat him to it, his eyes softened losing the sharp edge usually directed on criminals they both put behind bars.

"_**Fireworks!"**_

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(I have been convinced… I was dubious, and had to nitpick… but hey, making previews is… fun.**

**I don't know when exactly this guy generated in my head... some months ago. **

**I'd give more context on this one, but sadly that would give it away, I'm bad at being subtle, if I do try, it'll be too vague.**

**Till next update~**

**I guess…**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	2. RI2: La Famiglia de la Arachne

**|La Famiglia de la Arachne|**

**(Random Idea 2)**

Kaito stares wondering whether or not he's still dreaming because there was no way the sight in front of him was true, right?

…

Kaito did not expect he would wake up to his mother suddenly flinging his door wide open—smacking loudly against the wall. Even before Kid he had learned to sleep lightly—especially with his mother, becoming Kid had only intensified that alarm and enhanced his reflexes. He had heard the door opening before it even slammed open. Thus, the moment his mother entered he had flung a lasso-like trap that would restrain the intruder to the strategically placed pegs on his walls, but instead, the scarves only pulled taut against each other with a spider-web-esque pattern. His mother had somehow bypassed it, avoided capture and had lunged at him without a pause. Seating him back on top of his bed, unperturbed at the vicious and sudden attempt of capture.

"Rise 'n shine sleepy head! Get up, we have a bright and long day ahead of us today~" he blinks blearily, wondering whether or not his mother was actually right in front of him, going through his closet—why was she taking out sets of clothes, and was that a black tuxedo? Where did she get that—wait, _that_ was in _his closet_?!

Shaking said thoughts off—his mother is the _Phantom Lady_, he decides to focus on the matter at hand. Like how the clock next to him says it's still around 3 in the damned morning or the fact that today is a weekday—so why was she packing his clothes?

"Uh, mom?" the woman hums inquisitively but doesn't turn to him as she eyes two of his more formal dress shirts—ones he prefers to keep at the very back of his closet even if they were colored brightly or vividly. "Why are you packing my stuff? And _long day_?" she twirls, _twirls_, to face him

"Well, long _days_ actually~!" she chirps with a megawatt beam on her face. Kaito blinks.

"But I have classes?" he tries, both he and his mother are fully aware of the fact that he actually didn't need a perfect attendance to learn the lesson in class. Multiple pranks aside, he didn't actually skip class as much as he let on—even the teachers knew that. Not to mention he didn't actually miss classes without a good reason (even being Kid wasn't one.)

His mother laughs as if he had said something funny.

"I already informed them of your future absences and got the okay as long as you turn in the needed requirements and the homework they pass on." Kaito groans, _of course, she has_.

"And?" he prompts because while he understood that they were going on some trip of sorts, he still didn't understand the necessity of such act.

"We're going to visit your father's friend's family! They're holding a special event and they invited us in honor of your father." Kaito blinks, he had never heard of this family, _at all_.

"If they respected the old man that much, where were they on his funeral?!" it was minute, but he saw when his mother's eye narrowed, her head turned to the side, the slight pursing of her lips.

"They didn't know your father normally, he taught them the art of disguise… not only that—they knew him more when he was performing for a selective audience and timeframe." Kaito blinks because then that means—they knew the first _Kaitou KID_, and considering the situation, his father must have been the one who asked for them to stay away. The fact that they are calling him and his mother on this event of sorts, must mean that something had changed.

For the better or worse, he did not know.

His mother looked at him, knowing exactly where his thoughts had led to and she gives him a slight nod to indicate that she thought the same.

…

His mom drove them through many tunnels, frequently pulling on the dummy paint sheet on the car for a couple of times, and switching modes of transportation repeatedly. Also telling him to switch between different disguises as she did every single time. When he saw a likely illegally acquired—but his mother's _favorite type_—he knew that this was the last switch, and he was right as they continued through an almost hidden path by overgrown trees, and further into the uncharted countryside.

He was, to say, surprised when a humongous gate is seen, it was decidedly dark, looming and straight out of a Victorian Gothic Haunted House—_Mansion_. His mother slowed to a stop in front of it.

_"Ah, we've been expecting you… please come in."_ the voice from the transmitter said, not even asking for their identity. The gates gave a near silent whirl and hum of an activated machine, and the looming metal slid sideways, splitting in the middle. His mother trills her gratitude before driving in—not even waiting for the gates to fully open, slipping in as soon as it was possible.

"Mom?" he voices, uncertain how he should voice his concerns when they were already in the said event estate and the fact that he knows nothing about them. He just hoped his mother would be able to fill in his curious anxiety.

A look at her pleasant smiling face but troubled eyes told him otherwise.

"To be honest, your father was close to said friend…" she pauses with a sigh. "I was close to his wife, especially when we were both pregnant, but I can't say I actually know about their respective families and each other's in-laws."

Kaito blinks because that meant his mother didn't know much herself.

"Yuu-kun and Yuki-chan never really mentioned either of them… I don't even know if they have siblings or not. Yuki-chan was always talked about Shin-chan and Yuu-kun." Kaito nearly huffs. It might have just been an oversight on this friend's part, but it was also unsettling how uninformed they seem.

The way his mother's grip tightened around the wheel told him volumes that she had tried to look something up but came up with less than significant information. That alone said a lot.

Kaito could almost feel how his mother minutely tenses but forces herself to relax when she slowed the car to a stop at the front of the mansion that matched the gate a few kilometers away. The double doors creaked open wide and he sees a familiar curly, brown-haired woman, exiting the mansion and rushing down the marble steps with a sharp excited squeal.

_Kudou Yukiko_―his mind fills in, rushes down the steps with a bright cheerful face. And Kaito recognizes her as the terrifying woman he had called out on her age, though now that he had a sense of being a gentleman in his bones―he can see how the years had treated her well, still looking as youthful as she had been when he first saw her.

"Chi-chan!" the woman practically screams, a bounce on her heels as soon as is mother swings her door open with a flourish and air of a performer.

Returning the other woman's sentiment by rushing up to her, heels sharply clicking against the smooth cemented ground.

"Yuki-chan!" both adults give each other a soft but tight hug, one that Kaito would love to stay out of. However, he knew that his mother wouldn't appreciate him hiding in the car so he pushes himself off and outside the vehicle. The noise immediately hones both of the reunited women's attention to him.

"Oh my, this is Kai-chan? I knew he grew up well, especially taking up after his father! But wow! He's grown-up to such a handsome young man!" he winces when the bubbly woman snags his face cheeks with a sharp pinch, somehow not scraping it with her manicured nails, but he utters his thanks as clear as possible.

The woman soon lets him go when his mother changes the topic

"How's Shin-chan, Yuki-chan?" Huh, if he remembered correctly, Kudou Yuusaku and Kudou Yukiko's only son was that famous high school detective, Kudou Shin'ichi who has been MIA for some time. However, according to his mother—her friends, thus the Kudous, had this unfortunate habit of dropping off the grid of the Earth that would make them almost impossible to track down. _Except for his parents_, but his mother did say that was only when the Kudous were willing to be found.

So he wonders if Shin'ichi (who he has disguised himself as more than once) was truly missing or just took after his parents.

"Shin-chan's as cute as always! He looks so much like his father, and of course, me, every day you know?!" Kaito follows after them, maintaining a three-step distance as they all entered the mansion. He listened with half an ear to them as they chattered on, looking around, taking note of the hidden and expertly placed surveillance cameras. Not to mention, if he wasn't mistaken, those plants, tables and the framed portraits were bugged with listening devices.

The Kudou Lady was talking about how this mansion was her father's, and that it was shared to their immediate in-laws.

He knew what was coming up was a vital topic, when a portrait caught his eye. He had already understood that each portrait portrayed the family of each generation and the offspring's family. This portrait caught his eye though because it was one with Kudou Yukiko, a man who he can only assume as Kudou Yuusaku―who has a strong resemblance to his father, if not for the different eye shape, hairstyle, mustache, and familiar glasses. What caught his eye though was the child in the middle. _Kudou Shin'ichi_ is what logic whispers, at the sight of the seven-year-old, almost glaring at the person who painted the canvas, but Kaito would recognize that face—_those scrutinizing pair of eyes—_ anywhere, despite the lack of glasses.

_Edogawa Conan, Tantei-kun_ is his heart's mind's whisper.

But what was Tantei-kun doing in the Kudou's portrait? A check on the nameplate suggested that he was right. But wouldn't that be Shin'ichi? He did hear that both he and the detective bore a striking resemblance. Seeing Kudou Yuusaku in the canvas told him part of the reason.

But didn't they say, that while related, Conan was some cousin of Shin'ichi few times removed? That wouldn't explain the uncanny resemblance between them though.

He snaps out of his near trance seeing that his mother and Yukiko were engrossed in their gossip to notice he had stopped following them, and were already a few rooms away. He rushes after them, taking note that the portrait next to the Kudo's is a woman who looked alike Yukiko if not for the more reddish tint in her hair, and blue-green eyes, a man with a well-groomed near orange hair and dark-colored eyes next to her, In front of them, are three children each having a likely 2-year-gap with one another. A girl and two boys. And next to it is a portrait of a stern-looking chocolate brown-haired man, a mischievous-looking woman with elegantly curled red locks. And in front of them are two near identical beaming girls, if not for one of them getting the father's coloring and the other the mother's.

"Kaito! This way!" his mother calls, cutting off his line of thought.

"Coming!"

…

Said event was apparently at least a week-long, and on the first night, it's a black-tie event. So, now here he is situated and keeping a sharp eye on the crowd around him, his mother had already gone off with her friend—telling him to behave. When swears they are surrounded by mafia family members, illegal dealers, and smugglers. Hell, that woman with her son on the corner, adjacent to him was a pair he recognized, and they were the infamous kidnappers that operated that equally infamous human-trafficking base in the underground. Their public personas were traveling tabloid reporters.

He's actually surprised that he hasn't caught whiff of someone using drugs in the event, that is until he took a closer look and felt sick down to his stomach. There were other minors in the room, much like him—but the worse was the children, most of them having this deadly glint in their eyes, already too mature due to the environment they most likely grew-up in.

When he'd seen one of the few other guests that arrived after him and his mother, he immediately understood that Yukiko did not talk about her family on oversight, it was deliberate. They operated on illegal business—_ironic_, considering her only son is a _detective_.

Also, wouldn't that mean that Tantei-kun was involved here? Interacting with the boy had shown him more than once that the boy wasn't afraid to bend the laws, skirt around it to get what he wanted, even said—though not to him as a Kid, Kaito just overheard him say it; _'It's not illegal if you aren't caught.'_

He had actually wondered if the littlest detective had snapped. But the boy went to normal when a case came around the corner.

The lights dimmed, a spotlight focusing on the middle of the stage in the room, promptly gathering everyone's attention, settling themselves, and Kaito was briefly reminded of a vintage movie that involves a meeting-disguised-as-a-social-gathering of aristocrats. Not to mention, the sheer amount of _black-clad_ people were getting to him; while Snake had not worn a complete nor a majority of black overalls, his subordinates were another story—and his clothes were dark enough. But he decides to shelve those thoughts, trying not to think of that tanned blonde man, dressed in mostly black that cornered him to that train car.

"We thank you, everyone, for coming to this pleasant evening. We sincerely hope that your trip had been well, and went smoothly." That was a nice and subtle way to tell them a threat of that they better not have been followed, the fact that everyone else just laughed lightly with a sinister-like undertone just served to unnerve him. Dabbling in underground dealings were his thing, but this one made him at the center of it all, and not to mention—his real identity was recorded. That alone opened up threats of a whole different story.

He listened with a half ear as the woman welcomed everyone and said the introduction of what was likely a long placating announcement, before the actual important details.

She had just finished naming the recent achievements of each immediate family of the three clan heads behind her. However, the constant use of the "_we"_ and _"us"_ pronouns told him that they weren't just there to represent their line—but to represent their allegiance.

"Lord Kudou, Fujimine, and Edogawa," his head snaps up in full attention—_Tantei-kun was really involved, even if there was a chance that he might not be aware of it, but knowing the detective that was _highly_ unlikely_. "has pleasant news to bring to you all. One of their own has just passed his initiation and starting tonight will be involved in the matters, we have another official addition to the family.

Please welcome," Kaito chokes, eyes widening at the _child_ that just entered the stage, deaf to the chorus of applause in the background. "_Edogawa Shinsuke!_"

_Lies, that's Tantei-kun!_

And it was, his hair may have been styled, some of his bangs having been pushed back by a dark extravagant pin. Suit tailored like the aged men behind him, and despite the lack of glasses—Kaito knew that he was looking at _Edogawa Conan, the Primary Student Detective, Kid Killer, Tantei-kun._

Without the obstruction of glasses though, he could feel those eyes' heavyweight personally on his skin, bearing him down as if they were ready to tear him apart and bear him open. Slowly, the boy smirks, his eyes gleaming darkly.

"Thank you, everyone. I had been looking forward to meeting you, I hope that we all get along in the future." Shinsuke—_Conan_, _Tantei-kun_ bows, his voice drawled in a deeper octave that Kaito felt it when his skin crawled.

This was a social event for the higher-ups in the underground, and _Tantei-kun_ is here. Part of the _hosting_ family.

This has to be a dream, in no way _Tantei-kun_, of all people, is part of _the_ _Mafia Family_.

This has to be a dream… right?

A hand suddenly clamps on his shoulder.

**|To Be Continued…|**

**(As mentioned, this is just a preview for whatever story idea I thought of… if I do get to expand on them, I'll just update it on the notes.**

**But this one is inspired by that kite episode… can't remember which… [**_**I'll have to look into it.**_**]**

**Edit: Found it, Episode 765 – Teimuzu River Kite Flying Case (Part 1) at 07:15 timestamp until 08:05.**

**Because **_**yes, Genta**_** that wasn't detective work, and **_**yes**_** I believe that can actually be considered as a crime, Mitsuhiko.**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	3. RI3 RI32

**|Quarter of Life|**

**(Random Idea 3)**

Kaito grunts, the breath knocked out of him, and he glares at the 18 kilograms that just flung itself at his midsection.

_"You brat…"_ he growls lowly. But he immediately loses his edge when he hears a thud on the other room.

"Kaito! I hope you boys aren't fighting?" his mom's voice echoed from the other room. Moaning lowly, he glares once again at the de-aged teen smugly smirking at him.

"We're fine mom!"

"Now, now. _Kid-kun_. You either give me the sapphire, _or _I'm telling on you." Kaito glare at the boy.

"You detectives are really unfair!" he tries to wrestle with the boy, but said detective just clings to him like a limpet reaching for the gem's hiding that the teen just stole on his heist the other day.

"That's not even Pandora! Hand it over!"

"No! Lemme go you brat!'

.-.

Chikage hums, even as she hears the muffled yelling and ruckus from her son—_sons_—room, placing the last of the plates on the table, as soon as she sets the last utensil, the chime from the doorbell echoed.

"Boys! Our guests are here! Tidy up!" she hears their echo of agreement, and them fumbling in their room. Deciding to leave them to it, she answers the door, smiling at Ginzo, Aoko, and three of her classmates. "Good evening! I'm glad you guys could come, do come in—"

_"HEY! GIVE IT BACK!"_ maintaining the smile despite her guests' attention having been shifted, she adds.

"You're just in time for dinner~" and she steps back to give them space, making a wide arch of a welcoming gesture. They seemed hesitant but slowly moved in, awkwardly voicing their own greetings.

_"IF YOU WANT IT! COME AND GET IT!"_ they all looked up questioningly, giving her a concerned inquisitive gaze. Her smile twitched.

"Aoko-chan, you know where the dining room is, please do lead them… I'll get the boys."

…

They all stared as Chikage left, each shuffling into the given indoor slippers.

"So… did Kuroba tell us, why he asked for us here, Nakamori-san?" Hakuba asks the girl hums a negative shaking her head. But before she could even say anything. The voice of their host screams out.

_"I TOLD BOTH OF YOU TO TIDY UP! STOP STALLING AND GET DOWNSTAIRS AND GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE I GIVE YOU BOTH AN ACTUAL REASON TO CRY!"_

Hakuba sighs, a glance at the two Nakamoris actually told him that this was a sort of usual occurrence.

_Typical Kuroba_.

**|To Be Continued…| **

* * *

**|Collaborator's Reach|**

**(Random Idea 3; Version 2)**

Conan feels the hairs on the back of his neck raise, trying to placate his beating heart as he read the text he just received. Looking around warily, he tries to see if there was someone watching. Finding nothing out of place, he glances back at his phone's screen glaring at the unchanging foreboding coded message.

**_From:_** _Unknown_

**_Subject:_**_ You'll know._

_'Play along, Kudou Shin'ichi.'_

It didn't change, he wasn't careful enough. He had to do _something_.

…

"I'm telling you, Hakase. I need to know if you can check into the server and see if the calls I made to Rand had been tapped!" the Professor sighs.

"Look, Shin'ichi, while possible, the calls you made had been more than weeks past. It would take me a while to look for it, not to mention dodge any agents that might be trying to latch on my hacking. This is dangerous." Conan growls, but not to the Professor and more to himself.

"Can you do it without compromising yourself?" he asks grimly, looking up at the Professor who wilts a bit.

"I can but it will take a few weeks." _And we don't have that_. Conan moans understanding the aged man's concern, "I'll try to—"

_No, if the Professor were to rush this, he could be found._ And he says as much,

"No. I'll do something about it. If anyone comes here and asks, I want you to say that you haven't seen nor heard from me since the night I disappeared in Tropical Land. Tell them, if they ask Ran and she says that you said I left—tell them that was someone else. You didn't notice because their back was turned to you. Tell them you don't know who. Tell them you didn't notice until it was too late." Agasa's eyes widened.

"No, Shin'ichi-kun—I can't—!" Shin'ichi inwardly swears, he grasps the inventor's hands tight in his small ones.

"No! _Listen_ to me, Hakase!" he glares up at the man. "You have to. You know who Edogawa Conan is, you met him. But as far as you know, he has no relation to Kudou Shin'ichi. _That's_ _it_." seeing the man about to protest, Shin'ichi adds. "You said it yourself, those men that tried to kill me _are dangerous_ if they find out. They're going to come for me and kill those around me. I can't have you targeted, you're already in enough danger as it is. I don't want to add more to that. I'm already risking this meeting as it is."

The Professor makes an uncertain noise of protest, but Conan shakes his head.

"You tell _no one_, please, Professor." Agasa sighs deeply, but nods.

"Be careful, Shin'ichi." Conan nods.

"I will. From now on, make sure you'll consistently call me, Conan. Edogawa Conan is simply a distant relative, after all." the inventor eyes him grimly, but sighs once more, resigned he nods. The shrunken detective sighs in relief.

"Thank you…"

…

Conan makes a false show of enjoying the _rare video game_ he gets to play while keeping half an ear on both Ran and Kogorou's conversation.

They had received a message earlier that one of his aunts would be coming to pick him up from the agency. The fact that it was sent by an Unknown messenger only served to ring on the alarms in his head in full-force. However, left with no choice but to play along, since there was nothing he could do in this situation, he waits. And the first chance he gets, he _will_ escape, only he would have to stay away this time. Keep away from anyone that ever knew him. He couldn't afford to be reckless and careless, it would get the others killed.

And so, he does as the message that was sent to him.

_'Play along.'_

That didn't change the fact that his skin slowly broke down in cold sweat, or how his frantically beating heart almost deafened his hearing. How he had to force himself to breathe deeply and hold his breath, lest he started hyperventilating. The door opens, and he feels every muscle in his body freeze. Vision tunneling to the petite, frail looking, bespectacled woman.

"We're really grateful that you took in my nephew at such short notice. My sister is quite occupied, so I'm here to pick him up." Kogorou narrows his eyes at the bob-haired woman.

"And you are?" he asks rather warily that Conan would share his sentiment if he didn't see the man's leery gaze. The woman makes a show of flustering and fumbling around, well played if Conan didn't already have his reserves on her.

"I'm Kyoko… Tachibana Kyoko. Edogawa Fumiyo—Conan-kun's mother's younger sister." he couldn't help it—he glares at her. _Sure_, she looked generic enough to pass off as his mother's sibling, her dark chocolate brown hair and olive green eyes. However, _his mother_ wouldn't have a sibling like that. _At all_.

It was insulting… _that meek attitude_.

Ran nods, smiling at her then turned to him.

"Isn't it great, Conan-kun?" he didn't get to hide his glare fast enough, not that he didn't want to stop it. So, instead, he scowls, Ran cocks her head. "Conan-kun?"

The woman, _Kyoko_, stutters, catching the karateka's attention.

"He and I… we don't really get along…" she offers sheepishly, already adding their backstory for the Mouri's who now paid attention to her. "I think, Conan-kun believes that as long as I'm available. He would have less time to spend with his parents." Kogorou makes a sound of understanding, already uttering words of sympathy. The woman feigning relief at the two guardian's empathy.

Ran, _of course_, is understanding. Since there are children like that.

Adding another dose of annoyance.

Reigning that in, he scans the woman, eyes narrowing when he takes note of the hidden small pistol with an ankle hostler, then the one in her breast pocket—not to mention the multiple knives on her person. There was also a faint bulge in her dark blue jacket's left pocket. Judging from the shape, it's a bottle… _chloroform_ then.

"It's time to go, Conan-kun…" she smiles kindly at him, he was sorely tempted to throw a fit, _anything_, but he saw the minute glare from her. And that alone told him not to, so instead, playing along with the excuse she just gave, he scoffs petulantly, huffing. As if he didn't want to go with her, which he actually didn't both as the act and genuinely.

But in the end, they are loading the small things he accumulated during his stay in the back of a small cream colored porsche. It didn't even take half an hour, and he's already strapped on the front passenger seat, the woman behind the wheel fumbling with her seatbelt. And Conan wonders, if she was fine to even drive. Though considering _who_ sent her and likely what group she's part of, it could just be part of the act. Though he's also wondering how this would make the Mouri's trust her when she's portraying herself like someone who would be a hazard on the road.

From the look on both Ran and Kogorou's faces, they seemed worried themselves, but Ran holds it back by smiling at him.

"I guess, this is it, Conan-kun." glaring one more time at the woman, he turns to Ran with a smile, not really wanting to leave her.

"Un… I…" he trails off, wondering if it was fine for him to actually say something, but he continues. It really wouldn't be odd if he were to say the next line, after all. "I'll miss you." Ran smiles sadly and the engine turns on, slowly the woman, _Kyoko_ drives off

It was barely audible… probably projected by his mind, but he swore he heard Ran say.

_"Bye-bye… Conan-kun."_

…

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kudou Shin'ichi-kun… or would you rather, prefer Edogawa Conan-kun?" the man greets with a pleasant smile.

"I was hoping we could come into an understanding… would that be possible?"

"..." he glares at the man, who chuckles.

"Where are my manners. I am Zero, I am here to give you a proposition if you would consider."

**|To Be Continued…|**

**(Well, I could have just separated the version 2, into idea 4… however, they were similar enough that in my notes, I got lazy and just included it in the same category. [_So, technically_ wouldn't this be _two updates in one?_]**

**The general plan _is_ to have him _not_ stay in the Mouri agency… whether he met them or not (as Conan).**

**Also, for those that think the Mouris' let Conan go a bit too easily… notice the episode it is revised of? That's Episode 43 – Edogawa Conan Kidnapping Case, the Mouris' don't actually know Conan that well in that time.**

**Until the next update!**

**—DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**

**[_Also, Am I the only one that thought of Code Geass' Zero?_]**


	4. RI4: Cerberus of Wisteria

**|Cerberus of Wisteria|**

**(Random Idea 4)**

It was madness,

Anywhere he looked was madness. He was still getting over his feverish state, sore all over, groggy, not to mention _exhausted_. And as if it wasn't any worse; he had an aching headache that accompanied the churning gnaw of his stomach, hungry, dehydrated. _Weak_.

There was no way he could get out of this cult ring as he is.

There's no way, he could get out of this _alone_.

He needed help, and he would have to break the taboo just to do it—but something needs to bring these _bastards_ down. Then he's coming after those that did _this_ to him.

So, he ignores the heavy lead-like weight that settled in his heart as he heard another child being bled to death on that sacrificial table plateau. Ignores how children screamed, cried, and fell hopelessly silent around him. Instead, he focuses inwards, working to calm himself—then working himself up again. _Focus,_ he'd whisper to himself reaching for his all-too depleted energy turning said focus outwards,

He glares at the cult operations and the sickening audiences, keeping an eye on them, making sure that whatever he was doing would slip their notice until it was already too late to stop him.

He then half drags the focus to himself and a small space around him, making sure to pick a fight when one of the cultists grabbed his arm and manhandled him to the table. When the knife rose up, glinting sharply from the flame of the candles that lit the room. He wraps the energy around himself, feeling it vibrating and _alive_ on his skin almost rejuvenating him—but that wasn't his goal.

He mentally curses at the observers' laughter and sadistic pleasure he glares up at his executioner-to-be—_if this monster were to succeed that is_.

He doesn't swat at the rising dark, sadistic pleasure welling up in him—part of him felt sickened and ashamed that he's letting himself sink, but he swats at that and allows the dark energy to wrap around him. He tears a small portion of this reality's dimension fabric—

The knife swings down.

He _calls_…

…

It was interesting… _peculiar_.

He had felt the call, _sharp, crisp, crystal clear_ despite its exhaustion. It was enticing, not to mention rarely anything happens here, it was getting dull. So, he answers the call before anyone else can, and with him, his partners came along. They were a package after all—there was no taking only one or two of them, it's all or nothing.

So, he lets the summoner cop a feel on their auras, clearly curious and slightly confused as to why there were three of them—then it turns to a bewildered, fearful wonder. Wondering if he even had enough energy to summon them—and that was understandable, from his aura's fatigued state it was obvious he was highly depleted, and even just summoning them alone would likely kill him—but they were a package.

Summoning them would take a lot of energy, _yes_, but summoning _one_ of them can summon them all.

So, he sends a reassuring and a challenge to their summoner, his partners backing his message, and then they were being wrapped and pulled into the mortal realm. As they have agreed on, he checks for the surroundings, Scotch checks the surroundings around the surroundings and Bourbon checks on their summoner.

Bourbon takes an unnecessary sharp breath, keeping half attention on the presence surrounding them, he looks where Bourbon is looking—and his breath too, hitches.

In front of them is their summoner, deathly pale, feverish and fatigued. Laying down flat against an offering table, as a robed man crouched on top him a knife piercing through the boy's hand as an attempt to keep it from stabbing his chest, only the tip drawing blood from his chest.

But that wasn't what made his breath hitch and take a vacation, made him feel winded. The boy was so _young_, not even a ten-year-old, maybe _six_ or _seven_. Fatigued, exhausted… and yet he was glaring defiantly at the man, eyes gleaming with determination so bright, it left him breathless.

The contract wasn't complete, _yet_. Time has stopped for the people—_the cult_ around them, the child side-eyes them, not moving from his position, knowing that if time were to play he would be stabbed if he were to falter.

So young, and tiny—yet he wasn't frightened by these men that pose a threat to him, no he wanted to _fight_ back. And that was something rare. Even rarer was this child's _conviction _and sheer determination—well, children could be stubborn, but it was different with this one. Not to mention, the child shouldn't even have enough energy to summon them at his _best_, but _he did_ while severely depleted, ill, starved and dehydrated. So the boy did the next alternative… and _did it_. Wow.

It was an _ineffable_ wonderful exhilaration.

_Peculiarly wonderful._

"**Do you realize what you're doing boy?"** he tests because it was possible that it was simply a coincidental product of desperation since the boy was of pure summoner blood. The boy possibly even doesn't realize that he summoned a demon (_ridiculously slim possibility, but still... __**possibility**__._) than a familiar—not that there would be familiars that would be able to help him in his situation.

Then the boy glares at him. That's good, he was aware after all.

"I wouldn't have summoned you now, would I?" Bourbon snorts.

"_**He does have a point there you know…" **_then Bourbon turns his attention back to the boy. _**"Do you have a certain aim in mind, boy? Aside from getting rid of the immediate people here?"**_

"**We're technically not supposed to say that?"** Scotch remarks from his side, Bourbon cheekily grins at him. But he didn't have to say anything because the boy speaks over him.

"Well? Are you here just for the chit-chat?" the boy snarls, nearly growling, glaring at them and glancing at the knife still obviously protruding in his hand, scraping and drawing more blood on his chest just below his collarbone.

"**Do you have your part in mind then?"** the boy nods, and the energy around them flickers before it thickened. Rye would have studied them, but a part of him wanted to find out by observing the boy, so he held back. His partners respond in kind, and in consensus, he adds. **"Then… you know what to say."**

The boy breathes deeply, facing the still frozen stature of the cultist in front of him.

"I, Kudou Shin'ichi, forge this contract with you, bound to me you shall be until you've done your end of the bargain, and you shall be paid."

"_**And it is done."**_ they responded, and the boy, _Shin'ichi_, screams when he too feels the burn of being branded, arching off the table and making the knife dig into his skin. Alarmed they stepped forward, and pulling the knife from the cultist's hands, the scream dies out too soon, and Rye wonders if the branding was too much—

"_I command you,"_ the three of them perks up in sync, feeling the twinge and filling of energy surging through them. _"handle this and get me out of here."_ A sense of urgency, the boy hisses but tilts his chin up defiantly, the Faustian Contract gleaming faintly and Rye would have probably felt light-headed if he needed to breathe, _this boy was just_—

'_**He's amazing…'**_ Bourbon speaks through their mental links and both he and Scotch hums in agreement.

"_**As you wish, Master."**_

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(Well… if anyone wants to point fingers… I blame pixiv and pinterest on this one.**

**Not much to say… but **_**yes**_**, there will be Conan.**

**Take that however you want. [**_**Though, in reality, it already has a purpose.**_**]**

**Until the next update.**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	5. RI5

**|An Out of Place Idealistic Realist Writer|**

(Random Idea 5)

Conan has been jumpy lately, always skittering on and off. Looking over his shoulders as if he had a painted target on his back, and according to the kids he has been acting like this for two months, but he doesn't always look over his shoulder—that apparently only happens for a week at every end of the month. As if there was something setting off his paranoia.

So, as Amuro, he asks Ran if something happened two months ago, nothing much, but that was around the time he and the children were involved in another murder case. Approaching Conan would be detrimental, so he waits.

.-.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Amuro-san… has there been changes in the board? Something new or maybe something that they just moved?" _Have you heard of a new member or someone making a move?_ He translates the boy's message—he did owe him for that case with Curacao—even if it ended with them without a lead. But it was vital that they keep NOCs _inside_ the organization.

"I'm certain that the board was as is, as I left it. But I'll check it to confirm." _I haven't heard of anything I'll see what I can do_. The boy nods stiffly, eyes flickering around the surroundings—scanning the streets outside of the Café. And Amuro wonders if whoever Conan had caught an eye on, had come by the Café or worse, the _Agency_.

"Was there anything you wanted to add?" he prompts.

"Yes, I think some purple would do, you know since it would an elegant color for the future queen?" _Young woman, wearing a mix of black and purple_. That was alarming, he hadn't heard of a new recruit—however, it would be another story if it was an old member that the Organization was keeping under the wraps.

"I'll see what I can do." he paused because he knows Conan wouldn't go to him unless the FBI didn't have anything. "The Queen's dogs didn't say anything to dissuade you?" _What about the FBI, they got nothing or are they keeping it from you?_

"Nothing, but they did tell us to be more careful in navigating the board." _They have nothing, but their hands are tied—so they're leaving this to us, but we have to be careful_. He nods, because against the Organization that was something that they should exercise. Failing that could easily have them killed at worse, and be mistaken at best.

If this woman, Conan is being alarmed about, is a civilian then that's one potential suspect down, if not—they're screwed.

A consultation with his superior had them all in agreement to refrain from engaging contact, he says as much to Conan. They couldn't afford to let their guards down that low.

…

Getting a coded message and part "SOS" from the said boy wasn't in the least comforting. Even less so when he ends up hiding out around the same spot _Akai_ picked, to observe the outside of the aforementioned apartment building. They both spent a few seconds staring at each other―was Akai mocking him with that blonde hair disguise under that ever familiar knitted bonnet?

Then Akai seems to have reached some sort of decision, and before he could even protest—the man is pulling his cap off, exchanging it with his bonnet. While Akai puts on the cap on his wigged-head.

"What the hell, Akai?!" he hisses, knowing it wasn't the time to pick a fight with the other bane of his existence.

"Just a precaution." the man says—and did he just _winked?! What the hell?_

.-.

Well, at least the boy left the building uninjured, and on his phone—likely going to tell either of them to call off the 'rescue' or that the other is coming; well, a _little too late _for _that_.

However, the boy was shaken and wasn't even as observant as he usually would be especially to where he was heading. And for once, both he and Akai agreed mutually on one thing, they both blocked the boy's path, letting him run into them—and they both drag him off.

_Because someone really needs to drill "do not engage contact" into that thick skull and big brain of his._

…

The development was less than stellar, aside from the first time the woman went to the Poirot, she never did again. Almost as if that one visit was enough for her, even though she was more focused on that small memo pad she brought—and he regretted not paying attention to that when he served her. But that was before Conan approached him, while she did feel off he didn't get the presence; one would from the Organization or the potential to be one.

—And maybe that should have been why he should have paid more attention. Because her presence blended with the background rather than the shadows. If she were actually an operative it would be bad news to everyone, because who was to say there weren't more?

She had the presence of a collaborator—that enough should have alarmed him.

…

Then something changed.

Conan was leaving without his friends more frequently, slipping out of the Mouri residence with some lie, and when he returned there was always an addition on his person. Like that iconic Sherlock Holmes themed phone strap—a search on the internet told him it wasn't sold anywhere. Meaning someone made it and gave it to him.

Then he came back with a soccer and clover bag charm. A jeweled brooch that he gave to him—a thorough check told him it wasn't in any way a hidden trick, or bugged. But that it was made with a stainless steel pin and frame, and that the sapphire-like opal was actually a brilliantly dyed and mixed resin and an assortment of colored glitter.

And he got two other fingerprints aside from his, Conan's and Azusa.

A match to _Youna Mikami_.

'_What had changed?'_ he wanted to actually test it with Vermouth, but if she truly was a civilian, he couldn't risk it—especially since a background check into her, while keeping to her anonymous-esque cover, she was very popular not to mention she had many connections at just the right places.

Conan wouldn't like a mess like that—_since when did he start viewing that Elementary Schooler with the pedestal of his superior?_

So, instead, he waits for the chance to meet her. It wouldn't be long, seeing as she already met Akai—yes, he saw that interaction, or more like a collaborator informed him that she had made contact with Okiya Subaru—those kids that hang out with Conan, including that other more tea-blonde haired girl that he hasn't even met.

He just needed to wait.

.-.

His chance came when said tea-blonde haired girl lost her soccer player mascot phone strap, the adventure-esque search (_Kazami must be questioning his sanity right now_). _But this was advantageous in a way_.

Some catching action, chasing after a robber-turned-actual owner and finding the actual place for the strap—though Conan looked close to screaming his lungs out when they did find it.

However, the doll had been ran-over and looked dirt ridden all over, missing an eye—he highly doubts the girl would like it back, aside from the effort her friends put in the search.

"Mikami-san can help! We just need to find the eye!" Ayumi's sudden bright input and he watched with amusement as the boys practically jolted into action to locate the dislodged doll eye. Though he swore he overheard that the doll was worth so much because the player the doll is modeled after touched it.

Not to mention, they were apparently on a firstname basis with her—_ah_, _those personalized phone straps_. Did the woman worm her way through with bribery? But Conan surely isn't the type to fall for such petty acts, right?

It doesn't matter, he'll get his answer soon. And he smirks when Conan makes a call.

…

"What about you…" she trails off, though, by her slightly strained (likely restrained) tight expression, she knew exactly who he is. But at least she still had the sense to keep it concealed from the children.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Youna Mikami-san, right?" he smiles pleasantly—one she easily returns. She wasn't the only one with a multi-faced cover. "Conan-kun has mentioned you." well, not a complete lie. "I'm Amuro Tooru." he extends a hand for a handshake—though unnecessary. But she doesn't even bat an eyelash, and grasps his hand firmly—a slight tightening motion led him to believe that she was warning him of something. But alas the meaning is lost on him—but it seemed Conan had an inkling of why.

It seemed like her background wasn't lying about her occupation, except for some few missing details. She had small lined faint scars from knife-throwing and grip muscles from gun-handling.

He must have given it away because she simply arched her brow higher, but her lower expression didn't change—except for the glint in her eyes that seemed to gleam like they were saying she knew everything.

"Ah, yes… Conan-kun has also told me about _'Amuro-niichan'_ and his great culinary expertise." her hand tightened even further. "I hear you work at Coffee Poirot." to everyone else, that was a question. But to him it was a statement, her eyes had gleamed again. A stark contrast against her bright welcoming smile.

But he must say… _this will be interesting_.

(Also, was it just him or did Conan roll his eyes and nearly slapped his own face? Only settled for leaning on his glass of iced coffee.)

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(Obviously, this is one of those self-insert fanfics where an anime fan gets transported into their favorite anime series. As to why it is told by Amuro… well, that's the challenge. I already have this scene typed out in both Youna Mikami (my Self-insert OC), and Conan's separate POV.**

**I let A friend pick a number and used that as a decisive system.**

**Out of all the choices; themes, scenes, and POV—this is the preview result.**

**Okay, so, regarding why Conan told on Mikami. I'll reveal this now, at first Mikami didn't know she was actually in DCMK-verse, and on her week-offs from work, she started taking strolls to familiarize herself with her surroundings, her activity led to close-call encounters with Conan, but she never really noticed him—but **_**he**_** noticed her. To Conan, this was concerning, because she is more active than of Rumi, Kuroda, and Wakita.**

**To him, every time she gets close, he senses a presence from her that there was something **_**off**_** about her. Mikami returns this sentiment, but since it was only momentarily she shrugged it off. Conan soon thinks that maybe she is a scout for the Organization and consults the FBI, who in turn tells him that they couldn't do much at this point—watching her might alarm her.**

**And that could result in them losing a lead, being exposed—also endangering him because he seems to be the epicenter of it, or be mistaken—her being a civilian.**

**So he turns to the PSB (Amuro) for more information, as Kir couldn't really do much.**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	6. RI6: Tantei Kid and Kaitou Killer

**|Tantei Kid and Kaitou Killer|**

(Random Idea 6)

_Poker Face. Don't forget your Poker Face._

Kaito mentally insists, giving it his all to keep his Poker Face on top of his face. Yes, _while_ he may have acted like an overgrown kid as a teen, it didn't mean he had the actual mentality of one. But what must be done, must be done. Just so he can keep _Them_ from finding out that he was still alive, just quite not exhibiting his form as he did.

(His mother and current guardian took care of any possible connection to connect Kid to his civilian persona that is currently missing—or well, in some family emergency in some other country.)

But _Primary School is boring_. Not to mention for first impressions' sake, Shin'ichi took away all his prank gadgets, aside from a few parlor tricks—_it was torturous._ He was _so_ pranking Shin-chan so hard when he got home.

_"3 x 3 = 9!"_ he groans and silently thumps his head on the desk, mentally screaming bloody murder.

…

Shin'ichi twitched, feeling how a strong breeze hit his hair from a smoke-ball-like impact. Slowly turning to the shrunken ex-phantom thief, he asks.

"Do I want to know what color you turned my hair into this time?"

"Be glad Ran-san cheered me up so I just dyed it several gradients of blue and purple! _You prude flower!_" he sighs heavily as the thief sprints away with a maniacal laugh, baby blue smoke in his wake as confetti, ribbons and the like exploded in the room. He groans when he feels another wave, this time glitters from the matter the trickled in sparkles.

Looking down, he wasn't even surprised that his clothes were now a dark bluish navy green as if to say he's actually a flower.

It looks like he'll have to watch his steps again as he navigated his house for another week. Kaito—or rather _Arthur_, his adopted younger brother—due to certain circumstances from some obscure relatives of a family friend that suffered something which led them to be hospitalized for an indefinite amount of time—throw another tantrum.

And he wonders if Kaito was actually his parents' son, seeing as his personality was very reminiscent to his mother—though a secret blood check told him they weren't even remotely related, aside from having close friends-parents and the fact that they look alike enough to pass off as twins.

_How did I get into this mess?_ He can't help but think. Recalling that fateful day before he and Ran went to the promised Tropical Land—he had been begged by his mother to go to some event, one that Kaitou Kid was apparently holding a heist at.

He wouldn't have believed—unless provided solid evidence—that the boy in front of him used to be a teenager that gallivanted as an Internationally wanted Phantom Thief to avenge and expose his father's killers.

Sighing, he checks the time and resigns himself to another fate of learning disguising, acting and pranking from Kaito—all because they couldn't let the public know Kaitou Kid was gone when _Kuroba Kaito _left.

Even if it was just to some small audience—you never know where _those people_ lurked after all.

His luck sucked.

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(Yup, Kaito shrunk.**

**[Yes, still KaiShin… how? We'll just have to wait and see ;)]**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	7. RI7: Porcelain Husk

**|Porcelain Husk|**

(Random Idea 7)

_He couldn't move_.

He was conscious, yet not awake. That alone was weird.

Silence raged on and echoed dreadfully in this empty darkened space. No scent, no wind, _nothing_.

There wasn't an indication of temperature but he felt tremors coursing through his nerves, but it wasn't cold, nor was it hot. The sensation was actually familiar—but _where?_ Oh, he was in his—

—suddenly blinding white, _hot_ pain sparks to life. Blooming from the back of his head, and he would have shouted if he could—but his voice felt utterly stuck in his throat.

_It was painful_.

He couldn't even move, as if something was forcibly keeping him in place—only leaving enough so he could tense, but not do much of anything.

_Then the searing heat spread throughout his body_, _scraping_ and _nipping_. And he nearly screams—but _couldn't_.

It hurt. It hurts. _It_ _hurts…_

However, it was unforgiving, coming after waves and waves of pain after a short lapse of calm—_then, it's cold_.

_So cold_… he almost coughs, but it felt like he was swallowing his own tongue and in the end, _couldn't._

Another cold wave and his strength slip, he passes out.

…

_He still couldn't move_…

But something was different, he could faintly make out shadow, blurry blobs in front of him, he was sitting—someplace high—_how did he get here_? _He still couldn't move_

The place wasn't even a place, it was just some dump of shadow blocks he couldn't even discern, but from the vibe of the place—it was like he was inside some sort of… _what was he doing here? Wasting his time when he should be out there—_

_Blinding white—pain._

Not again.

_It hurts._

Once again, he passes out… even though he knew he shouldn't. _She was waiting for him._

—_She?_

…

Like all the other times he couldn't move, he was at the same place as the second time he was vaguely conscious. But he could make out something—_was that a phone_?

Why is there a phone on—he was also holding a phone—his phone when _it_ happened…

_Again, pain _on the back of his head—and he was falling into a limp on the floor, then pain wracked his whole body.

Like all those other times, he slips—but he sees it before he did.

_The location had changed_… _that was weird_.

…

He slips just as he was about to gain consciousness—but _not wake up_.

_He wasn't welcome here._

He couldn't fight back the urge, he blacked out.

_.-._

He was back, but something felt odd—like he was wearing something else entirely, but he really needed to get out of here first he just needed to—

The location shifts and suddenly it was cold, he was sinking, yet floating it was—_no he was underwater._

_Someone was drowning him?_

He slips.

…

The next time he woke up in that shadowy block place, he was once again seated, yet he still couldn't move, despite the lack of binding. He tried not to think of those that triggered the pain—and even willing himself not to almost instigated it. He needed to find a way to get out of here, to be able to _move_. Just as he was getting the hang of the said strategy after multiple black-outs later.

Something suddenly grabs his forearm (_a hand, female_) hard enough he swore he would bruise and break a bone, and he is manhandled roughly on the ground—heat uncomfortably pressing against his skin, but it dies out soon enough.

The hand wraps around his forearm again, and he's _flying_…

—he feels it when his back slams against the wall.

His mouth opens but no voice is coming out, even as he slumps on the low ground.

And everything started darkening—soon enough he feels it, as blow after blow lands on his immobile body.

_This was new_, he just needed to calm down, (_don't think about it_) breathe deeply and—-_breathe?_

Why would he breathe? He didn't need it.

_—Pain_.

He nearly groans, but this time out of frustration that his focus slipped and he feels a sharp pain on the back of his head again, and the painful heat wracking his body restarted.

_And he was doing so well…!_

…

Now, that shadowy block place was familiar, he could actually faintly make out more objects than just the phone, like that shelf over there, or that misused umbrella rack.

He spent his meager time of _consciousness_ wisely, trying to recognize his surroundings—_something fell_; that was a candle—_shit_.

For the next few minutes, he watched as the place went up in flames.

So much for memorizing the outlines.

_Sleep_ tugged at him, and he listened, he didn't want another blackout caused by the triggered pain, anyway.

(_Not to mention the heat was uncomfortable, and something told him it will be fine, despite the fire breaking out._)

…

The place he came to was different, yet not. He was once again seated, but the place was weird—_ah, _despite the consistent arrangement, it was the location that changed.

Unlike last time where he felt he was unwelcomed, now it felt like there was some compromise reached—but that didn't matter much to him, he was still stuck, unable to move or get out of this place.

Despite the consistency of the decorative shadow blocks, he could tell they were different—some weren't even where they were at first—or more likely they were taken down with the fire. Just their general location seemed about right, but not everyone was perfect to the T.

_.-._

This had become a new routine, slowly but surely he was able to recognize the objects enough that even though they were blurred, the moment he guessed or deduced them right, they would replace the shadow block—only they were still in black and white.

He had almost memorized the whole layout of the room—when he swore he felt some presence—these ones standing out from the other ones—approach the room. And sleep came tugging back at him, and before he knew it he sunk under.

…

_He woke up_.

_He could move_. Something had changed, but that didn't matter. He could_ move_, he could finally go back to _her_.

The place was no longer that other location filled with much random stuff, this one looked more like a living room. He can easily get around that—but he was groggy. _But_ he really needed to get back to her—but before that he needed to check on his mind palace.

He slips his eyes shut, focusing inwards—those men that tried to get rid of him, they will pay.

Feeling the familiar sensation, he opens his eyes…

_His mind palace was a wreck._

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(What do you think?**

**And yes, mind palace for geniuses are a thing.**

**But that's just a portion of this fic… I'm not really willing to spoil it yet.**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	8. RI8: One Truth

**|One Truth|**

(Random Idea 8)

It was one thing to go undercover with a public reputation as an insane genius, high school detective and another to be the co-leader of an underground criminal syndicate—though, seeing as it was a family business rather than one he started on his own. He didn't exactly have a choice on that matter.

He has to say that he currently despises this version of the organization—or what the organization has become—quite far from the family expectations. Now that he had come of age, the elders and his father; the current co-head, practically pushes him to the forefront to take up the second-in-command's role. One of the various versions of Rum; only he was no ordinary Rum, he would be the leader of all _Rums_. (_If that made any sense._)

He's apparently the Odorless Rum, meaning no one, _no one_ should get him—well, kill him, that is.

From what he knows, someone else has received _Ano Kata's_ code without their knowledge—since it helps with the cover and keeps them from slipping up. The former Ano Kata apparently just decided to gallivant off somewhere in the globe after dropping off the grid.

As the next Rum in-line from the Kudo line, it's his duty to oversee the dealings within his turf without letting the lower members know about it—though Vermouth clearly knew if her latest visits were any indication.

Now, he just saw Gin and Vodka ride the Mystery Coaster—that's fine, an organization member was entitled to have their weird quirks, and should they wish to indulge on it—no one's there to stop them or tell them otherwise. (_Vermouth_, his godmother loved pretending to be her own mother and daughter for shits and giggles.

His mother _was_ an actress.

His father is a mystery writer.

His in-laws-to-be were international wanted felons, one in hiding and the other having the time of their life.)

If Shinichi was touchy about that—he would be a major hypocrite and counterproductive to the point of being considered as a threat seeing as he _is_ a detective, undercover or not. Seriously, the most normal quirk any of the members had was _Sherry's_ unhealthy love for animals. She had different animals for her test subjects, but _her rooms?_ Filled with animals, it's practically a _zoo_. But they can afford it.

Anything for their precious scientist, and biochemist.

He enjoys his work, plus this wasn't his families goal when the organization grew as it is.

And the only way to fix it was to apparently dismantle it and start from the scratch… though that would require much more effort than it should. They are a multinational organization after all.

Though, _this_ Gin was really getting on his nerves lately. (He likes the Gin in Britain, at least that guy knew_ how to have fun. Even if he has a few screws loose._)

And he just gave Shin'ichi a reason to personally get rid of him without it being labeled under insubordination. _Sure_, he could just order someone to kill Gin, simple… _but where would be the fun in that?_

—_and who in the fucking world was stupid _enough_ to give the OK to use APTX-4869 in the field?!_

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(Well… you gotta admit… in Movie 20, when Conan made that call, it panned the camera to Vermouth, Gin and Vodka where they held Bourbon and Kir… and Rum made a call.**

**Coincidence? **_**Maybe**_**.**

**But did my brain listen? **_**No**_**.**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	9. RI9 (no preview available yet)

**|Specialized|**

(Random Idea 9)

This is just a placeholder… for multiple reasons/explanations.

First and foremost, {I'm quite hesitant because, while I have _some_ plot thought out for this, I don't really know how the original author of this fanfic trope would take it? [_Meaning: if it's okay for someone __**like me**__ to play around with this idea._] ( I'm not joking, I can be unpleasant when I play around with ideas. Some ideas that shouldn't even exist.}) [As of May 15, 2019. This is null and void. Phantoms said yes—kinda, in a way, but said yes— :). Also, I'd tag or add an 'inspired by' section in the endnotes, but since this isn't actually an official preview. Much less an official chapter, I'll save the tag/official inspire by section when I _do_ write the preview and when I started the series of this.

_Now_, I just need to get my head straight—_impossible_.]

Though I **[Edit 05-19-2019: still]** have several other tweaks to it… but it's not all that ironed out, _yet_. _Which_ _is also the second reason_.

Thirdly, I have scenes pre-prepared… but I am not comfortable to put them here. They don't fit, not to mention they don't have the _preview_ _feel_ to it. So, I set that aside. I have a few ideas… but I'm still not sure.

Fourth, I'm actually not _that_ sure if the tweaks I did, would fit. I have to review my notes, and adjust them as I go… but the basic idea was/is: _What if_ the SG ranking doesn't stop at Level 5 and Rank A, respectively. But goes beyond that (just one level or rank)? Wherein that additional rank is specifically for those rare—though not _uncommon_, if that makes senses—Sentinels and Guides that have unique ability (_ies_), with a variety of level.

_However_, I am committing myself to one fanfic story _at a time_, and try to dare myself to try two stories at a time… and see it from there… _which brings us to_—

Fifth; _These are previews—I technically don't consider them as full stories _yet. Previews and stories are different… that's why I'm uploading this and ASotH at the same time. Posting this allows me to share my idea, at the same time not fully commit to it, and instead have the choice to come back to it, see which piques my interest most and take it from there.

[_Not my words—I'm just paraphrasing, __**astorii **__helped me realize that while I was mulling over the pros and cons of doing something like this._ Credit where it's due. And **astorii's stories are great, go check them out.**]

What else… I think, those are it for now?

But this is just a _**placeholder**_, so. I _will_ update it… _depending_ on how things go. (No promises.)

(By the way, I'm keeping this ^^↑)

**[Preview is here below.]**

…

Haibara would have growled warningly at the squirming detective, had she not understood how he felt right at that moment. The fact that she is watching him fidget with the cloth that seemed like it wanted to _grate_ his skin off, made her feel like her own was crawling despite the fact that after she shrunk she had gone offline.

She pitied the detective as he winced as something shattered in the next room (most likely hearing it as if it shattered right next to his ear—or in his head, depending on how strong his senses are) and his nose crinkling from something only his enhanced senses could pick up.

She pitied him, she truly did.

Unlike her, he didn't have the luxury of becoming a child neutral as he _should_ _have_ after being administered the drug and somehow become one of the 1 percent that could have survived.

Though it might have to do with the fact that unlike her, the detective was no ordinary sentinel when he came online, and it was possible that the apoptoxin couldn't force his cells to go dormant once more. _Not _after it had resurfaced.

Aside from Gin and Vermouth, it truly was her first time encountering a highly powered sentinel, and get to study them up close—not to mention Kudou hasn't fully explored his powers yet, was something she really looked forward to. However, like the saying of _'every action has an equal reaction,' _she couldn't help but notice that there were drawbacks whenever he used his abilities.

Especially now, Kudou had claimed that his senses and abilities were likely overcompensating when his body shrunk as it did, trying to wring out the same control and power capacity he had as a young adult—which of course did not work well with his child body.

Not to mention, the rapid growth of his immunity to the temporary antidotes and the Senes pills, clearly she needed to recheck her data…

Figure things out, before he exposes it to the others that he isn't quite what he claims he is, as children that come Online at a young age, _specialized_ or not—would raise complicated problems if it were to get out in public.

For once, she wished she was one of the biochemists that studied the Sentinels for the Organization (they found it a waste of time for her to study those when she could make herself useful and further the research of her parents), so that she could help Kudou in his situation—_one wrong compound_ and she could kill him, cut off one of his abilities—and he was already cagey enough about that.

Plausible deniability was helpful for people like him and the ones involved.

…

Shin'ichi inwardly hissed and fussed, wanting desperately to tug and pull off the offending piece of clothing that wrapped around his skin, feeling like they were chaffing off—even though he knew that wasn't physically possible, though his senses claimed they were.

And of course, Senes-5 wasn't working as well as it should on his body—it was expected, he suspected something like that would happen.

While he did not want to discriminate, a Sentinel-6's body just worked differently than the typical other Sentinel's would. That included their resistance and overall body system—not to mention, depending on their ability or in his case, _abilities_, their Senes pills would also have to be personalized to them.

For the SGN Center, the Senes pills were only required if the Sentinel has yet to find a Guide.

The SSG Center, on the other hand, the first they looked for was a _compatible match_ according to the system, right after recording the—_**Specialized **_(as the government has taken to call the Sentinel-6s and S-Ranked Guides) orientated Sentinels and Guides' abilities and capabilities, their control pills would be issued only to be taken _when_ _their_ _**match**_ _was_ _**absent**_.

He hasn't told Haibara the extent of his abilities, _yet_. Back when he first came online, his test showed that he's a Sentinel-6 Level 8.5—which meant, if he couldn't put proper stock or control his ability he _could_ and _would_ be considered as a lethal terrorist weapon, with _multiple abilities_. He knew that there was some misunderstanding when they first resurfaced, he had tried to correct the physician for mistaking the numbers of his abilities—however, both of his parents told him otherwise.

They said the test system—aside from the compatibility check—could sometimes mistake the number a Specialized one has, only in his case he _does _have five abilities.

His physician named one as _two_, in the Center he had one unaccounted ability.

Just like his parents.

Unlike what Haibara and the Professor thought, he _did_ _go offline_ when he shrunk. He just somehow _forced _himself back Online.

According to Haibara, he was lucky his body didn't outright shutdown on him when he transformed back to Shin'ichi the first time when Hattori first appeared in his life—apparently, it was actually the _alcohol_ that allowed him to transform without getting overstimulated by the pain.

_It could have killed him_.

And his match wouldn't even know, because even he didn't know how Shin'ichi is right now. As Shin'ichi he could keep his Sentinel senses and abilities from going over the edge. Which was exactly _how _they managed to keep the distance from one another for long periods of time.

They _did _meet up every three months. Though they could last without the other for half a year—his match even more so.

However, as _Conan; _he felt like he was constantly filled to the brim with the impending threat of combustion not only from his raging senses that tried to meet his former standards as a young adult—his abilities doing the same, he could burn them out but he knew it would be detrimental. Not to mention, there was _no way_ he could meet up with _him_ like _this_—_oh_, Kaito would believe him, however, knowing the other teen, he would involve himself in this whole mess. And that was something he really could live without.

It was bad enough for Hattori to be dragged in it. Kaito didn't need this mess on top of being a part-time Guide S Therapist and whatever side-jobs the hyperactive-genius decided to take. The teen had enough mess of that murder-disguised-accident of his father's death—_yes_, he could confirm _that _much to Kaito.

Whatever Kaito decided to do with that information the other teen had already promised not to get into too much trouble or if he _did_ at least call Shin'ichi.

Which brought another problem, Shin'ichi sucks at lying, and lying to the _King of Pranks and Lies_? Not a good idea. Kaito would call on him faster than he can point fingers.

They had each other's numbers memorized, just in case one doesn't have their phone.

But what use was that when his phone itself was thoroughly reduced to a crushed, wrecked mess?

What use was that when Kaito would surely notice that his voice is produced by a voice-changer and would try to get himself involved?

He just couldn't risk it.

That was why even though he now had a new number, he still hadn't told him anything.

However, he had to make sure he wouldn't be found out as a Sentinel-6, Kaito would be the first assistance that would respond. If the Guide were to go in his mind—without a doubt, he _will _find out. Maybe not immediately, but he _will._

After all, no matter what his physical stature said, his mind space would remain the same.

**|To Be Continued|**

* * *

**(Inspired by Phantoms_Echo****, NewUserNamesAreHard ****and Procrastination_Sensation's take on Phantoms' SGN-verse that is collaborated into the DCMK-verse.**

_**Yes**_**, this isn't an update… actually. So, in compensation. I'm skipping this entry, and uploading RI10.**

**Edit 05-19-2019:**

**[I wrote this, like two days before I dropped a comment on Phantoms' Next Conan Hint—if you guys don't know what that is, **_**shame on you**_**, what are you doing **_**here**_**? Go and read that.  
What took this so long to get out? And even then, no preview? Third reason, and well, I was waiting for myself to finish Chapter 10—it's half-way there as we speak—or as I'm typing this.]**

**Edit 05-24/25-2019 (it was night and I typed till midnight, problem? I **_**was **_**going to post this immediately, but I was with my family on a family-reunion in the countryside, and they have no internet access there so...):**

**It is an AU, because I am practically re-writing the series, **_**damn**_… **I'll add canon cases, but they'll be nitpicked and chosen very carefully… cause **_**I'm**_** picky. So, I'll most likely only add the important ones, and the ones I think would be beneficial to the **_**"plot"**_

**Also, partly info-dump… and I'll be repeating this when I expand on this in its actual series (when I get around to it).**

**Also, also… Shin'ichi and Kaito aren't completely romantically interested with one another **_**yet**_**, not childhood friends either… you'll see. ;) (Someday)**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	10. RI10: Servitude 101

**(I'll deviate a bit, since** **I turned the end note into a rant board—turns out I needed to calm down, and review the preview in my head. **_**After **_**type-ranting **_**and**_** stress eating—that's how I quickly calmed down. But the original end note started coming back to me, well, bits of it. **

**To **_**summarize**_**—I mean it this time, I suck in summarizing, but I'm serious this time: **

**This is a spin-off of RI4—but less magical properties, more like close to nonexistent, aside from **_**Akako**_**, even then I'm debating whether or not to keep it. I most likely only kept the butler part and the system, sort of.**

**Kudou Shin'ichi and Edogawa Conan are one person (as is Miyano Shiho and Haibara Ai), only the multiple names just have a different purpose—kind of.**

**It's a full AU, there'll be hints of some canon details, but even then, they are twisted to fit this story.**

**Whether if its ReiShin or KidSil (Silver Bullet), is still debatable… (Why am I referring to it as KidSil? You'll find out in the preview.)**

**I kept the endnote as it is because you guys might notice something off.**

**Though honestly, this **_**might**_** be better—because I honestly cut the preview in half and deleted some scenes; ones I **_**can't**_** even restore, in writing quality, the last one was a rollercoaster hell road.**

_**But the last one was fun.**_**)**

* * *

**|Servitude 101; Serving Spoiled Brats, How to|**

(Random Idea 10)

Rei braces and tries to keep himself as calm as possible, willing himself to keep his posture lax but no less proper than it should as he stood straight, a step behind his seated master. Trying to keep his breathing even as he forced the ever-familiar boiling sensation curling in his veins.

He wills himself to ignore how that _damned butler_'s lips twitched to an infuriating _smirk_ at him—the nerve—who stood right across from him, two distanced tables in-between them.

Noting the slight shift from his Master, he leans down, not a step, nor hair out of place.

(_Of course_, no butler of the Wisteria Branch would dare to be any less presentable, _that'd be a crime_—for what it's worth, but the disappointed stares one would get is enough to cow anyone.

_Especially his Master_—the boy may be young, but it doesn't make him any less ruthless.)

"Did something happen, _Bourbon_? You're tense." as expected of his Master—noticing even without looking. His Lord's voice was low, barely audible—but seeing as he spoke in their native language than the general rule of English, it was obvious—not that he could say he was a stickler for the rules without sounding like a major hypocrite.

"Ah, rest assured, it's nothing." his Master's eyes flicker to the Heiress—his former betrothed—of the Rose Branch, seated right across him and his lips twitched to a smirk. The Lady must have noticed because she smirked right back.

"Of course, I'm sure. I mean, it's not like _Rye_ isn't across the room…" _and gosh, wasn't that embarrassing?_—Of course he expected nothing less from his Master, but it was close to impossible to hide things from him. Thankfully, his Lord only finds it amusing and shifts accordingly in an unsaid dismissal.

Staring hotly at the man—to glare without narrowing or widening his eyes—for a brief second, he looks away to stare in space, willing himself not to twitch when his Master chuckled lowly.

_Was it just him, or was the Heir of the Clover Branch staring at them—no, his Master?_

.-.

The gathering couldn't have ended any sooner, he would have sighed in relief if not for the fact that there were still many nobles and their servants roaming about the halls, so he keeps his amiable pleasant smile, nodding (a butler only _bows_ to their Master) silent acknowledgments at his fellow butlers and their Masters when they greet his own.

_Not that those filthy old men could ever hope to stand on equal foot with his Master_.

"_And here I'd be insulted that you didn't greet me, had I not know any better. Lord Silver Bullet."_ Rei sighs and _Bourbon_ stops in time to keep the standard two and a half step distance—also tempted to strangle the Lady, her butler has been rubbing off on her—after all, it was against the rules to be in front of your Master unless you're opening doors or getting something for them.

(Well, his Master didn't really adhere to that and he said as much, however, social reputation was a different matter all-together.)

But of course, he needed not to worry, his Master merely tilts his body—his back to him, to greet the Lady in a way that wouldn't even be considered as less than polite; it was less formal for an actual greeting, but it wasn't an overly informal one either. It was, however, expected of a Lady and her Betrothed—though she and his Master have mutually broken it off, they didn't actually find the need to announce it publicly.

It was a useful foil, after all, they could rest assured that there'd be no unwanted suitors unless they themselves decide on it.

"_Ah, Lady Sherry…"_ his Master greets idly, and Bourbon could hear the gossips around them as the nobles gave the two supposed betrothed a berth and space. He could sense some of the Duchess' dirty looks on either butler, and as much as it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth and mind to mentally praise his fellow butler—it was the right call, neither Master had dismissed them, it wasn't the other Master's right to order them around. Then his Master tilts his head back to have the other butler ins his sight. _"Rye…"_ a gesture and he smoothly turns around. _"Why don't you join us?"_

Lady Sherry doesn't even miss a step, easily taking quick, even strides to walk side by side his Master. But neither loops their arms—_of course_, they already broke off their betrothal, even if they're keeping the public, not in the know, and they might be proving the factual rumors with it—but neither was willing to pretend that they still were when they weren't.

He'd praise both of the fourteen-year-old Counts of their brilliance, and of course his Master's general amazing existence—if it weren't for the fact that walking side-by-side with Lady Sherry, would leave him walking _in line_ with _Rye_, of all people.

As they were heading for his Master's assigned quarters, he notes that the Heir of the Clover Branch was looking at them again, while almost all of the eyes were on their Masters, the Clover Heir was looking at his Master _again_, just like earlier.

It didn't help that anyone in the Clover line were generally secretive and mysterious—not much different from the Wisteria Branch really—however the Clovers were unpredictable folk, there was no telling what they want unless they went and said it.

Making sure not to stare for far too long, he makes a mental note to research the Clover Branch again.

…

Kaito wanted to groan.

_It was unfair_. Honestly.

The Kid Killer—or better publicly known as the _Silver Bullet_—of the Wisterias was walking Sherry to his quarters, while they wouldn't be left alone—it really didn't count when the extra company was their respective butlers. His friends, acquaintance, and even his parents—and their shared attendant would tell him he was a lucky young man. Often testing the water and playing with the line of life and death and coming out _alive_ and most of the times unscathed, it wasn't surprised when the media immediately named him the second Kaitou Kid—though the last two letters were in lowercase, unlike his father's all capitalized _Kaitou KID_, and the Phantom Menace, not that anyone but his immediate family, and his three close friends knew that.

However, it was times like these where he'd be sorely tempted to sock anyone whoever said that in the face.

The Wisteria Branch—according to his father, was their Yin. The shadow to their light, as proof; his father the _Kaitou KID_ is the rival of the Wisteria's current head, the _Night Baron_. They were rivals—and according to his mother, the famed _Phantom Lady_ were also each other's best friends and best man in their wedding. His mother also shared the same bond with the striking woman, that is Night Baron's wife, the famous _Night Princess_—coined from the media eventually deciding that they needed to get better than just calling her Night Baroness, and since she was called _The Princess_ in the past, they decided _why not_.

He had nearly met the Night Baron himself, was even close to learning the man's real name not just his public alias and title—however, the opportunity was lost when he made a mistake of addressing _The Princess_ as _"Madame"_ and _"Queen"_ which were apparently her trigger words. The Queen belonged to her childhood friend, or so it seemed.

He hadn't met their son who is five years younger than him—though he did see the boy when he was seven-years-old and now that he thought of it, the brat for a two-year-old was quiet compared to his other counterparts and age peers.

But alas, to his child mind it wasn't interesting, because the kid was just sitting there with a _book_ of all things, he decided it was _boring_—until he turned sixteen three years ago.

He could remember that night with startling clarity as one eleven-year-old Silver Bullet—or as his public alias: _Edogawa Conan_ effectively cornered him on his own show. Not revealing his secrets as what critics would usually do—but he actually _criticized_ his work on how he could have done it _better_. Not to mention, it was actually the pre-pubescent boy that apparently rewrote his codes so that his own maze set against him and their _timing_ were just _perfect_.

As if that wasn't enough to top the cake, Kaito was just about ready to tie himself up and offer himself to the boy—screw his heritage—when the boy complimented him for being _original_, because apparently his father challenged the Night Baron, but made a mistake of trying to contact the man through his son, it ended with the Silver Bullet cornering _his father—the Kaitou KID_ when he was still _seven_!

(Apparently, because it wasn't the Night Baron that showed up—a result of one Silver Bullet not telling him—his father slacked off and underestimated the boy.

And for Kaito who has been frustrated and trying every direction to one-up his old man, _and this boy did_ it was _amazing_.)

Since their first meeting as Kaitou Kid and the Silver Bullet, Silver Bullet started attending his shows and heists with almost perfect attendance—a pun dropped by Kaito and the moniker _Kid Killer_ was born. Morbid, but the fact that it was tailored to respond to _Kaito's_ title, made him ecstatic with the news as if the universe had said: _Yes, Silver Bullet—the Kid Killer? Is Kaitou Kid's_.

And Kaito was determined, even if he had to wait until the boy turned 14—the proper age of consent and proposal of betrothal—and at least when the boy turns _16_ for proper courting.

But of course, the universe also wanted to see if you still landed on your feet when they pulled the high throne underneath you:

Not even a week from that revelation, Edogawa Conan, the Silver Bullet was announced betrothed to Haibara Ai or _Sherry_. He has personally met her, and boy, she was _not_ a pleasant girl—well, not pleasant to her enemies, but still not quite pleasant to her friends either. But he could see where the two would and _will_ get along, it didn't help that Sherry was also the same age as Silver Bullet.

Seeing them disappear down the hall after a brief but synced movements that screamed familiarity sorely made him want to weep in his room.

_But of course_, the universe wasn't finished laughing at him because the Heir of the Gladiolus Branch—his so-called male _best_ and _childhood friend_, decided to sidle next to him sighing in a way that would seem he was sympathetic but was _honestly_ just mocking him.

"_Shame… really."_ Kaito swallows the string of curses and glared at the half-Brit.

"_Put a lid on it, White Horse."_ Hakuba-the bastard-of course only snorts in reply.

…

"So, the Kaitou Kid was staring awfully too long at your _cherubic_ face, is there something you're not telling me?" it was expected when Lady Ai dropped the English as soon as the door slid shut behind them, and of course she'd talk about that first.

His Master was hardly unobservant—he was the exact opposite, in fact, however, when it comes to noticing stares his Master was more in tuned to notice malicious intent ones compared to neutral—or the disturbingly coveting ones. However, Kaitou Kid's was one of the other types that didn't belong to either category, a stare of admiration, adoration, and _longing_.

He knew that his Master spent his free time attending that _con man_'s show for the puzzles and riddles—and if he were being honest, he'd actually enjoyed one or two of them. But the Heir was putting an awfully lot of attention on his Master that it didn't sit well with him.

Had they been in the Wisteria mansion, he wouldn't have qualms in responding as either Bourbon, Amuro or Rei to Lady Ai's jab. As it was; they weren't, he keeps his mouth shut knowing that there were bugs all over the room—any butler worth their salt would notice that, in fact, his _Master_ noticed that the second they stepped in the room.

It was uncouth, but a precaution to prevent any attempts of illegal handling.

(And also attempts of gaining blackmail and an underhanded way to gather information, but they needed to do better if they want to catch one of the Wisterias off-guard.)

"He was?" but alas, since his Master was used to more malicious intent directed at him when it came to other affectionate stares—that he thankfully didn't lack in the mansion—it took his Master a forewarning to notice the more _affectionate_ ones. "I noticed he looked, but I thought it was because this is my first time attending this event."

Rei didn't like agreeing with _Rye_ even if it was just the facial expressions, but this one deserved a deadpan.

_This_ was just ridiculous.

**|To Be Continued|**

* * *

**(**_**I am not amused.**_

**Even way before I finished Chapter 10—like days before, during the time I started on Chapter 10 **_**last week**_**, this was **_**fucking **__**done**_**. **

**I had written and completed this preview. I remembered the flow of the story preview, the switches between POVs, however, not word-per-word. And I just noticed as I finished DCMK RI39 and when I was about to continue ASotH's Chapter 10, I readied the files I was going to release **_**with it**_**, well **_**tried**_**.**

**After RI9, I finished **_**this**_**, 11-14, then followed by 48 and 39—because god, a character in Chapter 10 was boring, and because my mood wasn't having it. **

**It likely disappeared as I was transferring files **_**to back it up**_**. This idea decided to go **_**poof**_** and disappear from the folder **_**on my laptop**_**, **_**on my flash drive, **_**and **_**on**_** my **_**fucking phone**_**—and I have **_**two whole folders that are a clone of each other there**_**.**

**It was **_**officially**_** lost, more than 3 fucking thousand concocted words of a Conan-fan!Amuro, a pining!Kaito, and a flustered!Conan **_**lost**_**. And I **_**know**_** I didn't delete it. Something went iffy while I was backing the files up and it **_**disappeared**_**.**

**It was a **_**fluffy**_** preview, then _this happens_****.**

**I don't even remember half of what I said in the end note. It would have been fine had I just finish this like **_**yesterday**_**, but that was _last week_****.**

**Honestly, I considered letting this go. It doesn't help that I and my sisters have been staying in our Uncle's place which is freaking **_**hot**_** and **_**humid**_** and it's not helping my temper.**

**So, I'm doing my best to recreate it, because other preview ideas will give away too much of the plot.**

_**I considered letting this go**_**, but I **_**won't**_**. Why? [Explanations on idea 13's unedited note.]**

**[Don't worry too much, I'm purposely typing this first before the story so my temper doesn't affect it…**

_**I'll just kill someone on later chapters of this in retribution.**_**]**

**Until the next update.**

**(And to this never happening again.)**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	11. RI11: Placeholder (literally)

**|X|**

(Random Idea 11)

This _was_ a full idea. Until I decided to scrap it. But I'm lazy to relabel my already numbered other ideas, so I'm just keeping this place as a placeholder until I think of something that could replace this.

So… yeah.

**|…|**

* * *

**(Once again, I'll upload the next one as compensation… I **_**might**_** update this if I think of something worthy to get this number.**

**[**_**Also**_**, **_**no**_**, the numbering isn't a priority list. It's simply the order when I thought of them. The reason why **_**'A Step of the Heart'**_** isn't in this list because that belongs in the Rated M edition… which I'll get around to someday.]**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	12. RI12: By Kurahashi Sumuho

** |By Kurahashi Sumuho|**

(Random Idea 12)

Shin'ichi groans tiredly, nearly tempted to fling the manuscripts together with the paperweight out the window—Sonoko, his _self_-_proclaimed _manager already complaining about the fact that he promptly ignored her suggestion to add some character that would be fitting for the next victim. Whom Shin'ichi knew was that whining woman that accused Sonoko of being a thief during their outing on a café last week with Ran.

(_Sonoko being a thief?_ _If only_. The young woman was already rich even if she didn't work. Needless to say, there was a low-scale war between the two women in the café—one that he and Ran had promptly put a stop to, lest they get banned for life from that café.)

He wishes his editor would just get here and fast—both he and Sonoko perks up when the doorbell's ever-familiar chime echoes around the house, jolting up and rushing out of the library. Sonoko, of course, followed—still complaining all the way to the front door while Ran simply poked her head out of the kitchen door and gave him a brief nod, before retreating back to the kitchen.

Had he not been raised by his mother he would have sighed in relief and thanked his editor right on his doorstep, however, since he is raised by his mother. He dutifully ignores his childhood frenemy's whines behind him, smiling politely as he opened the door.

—it was always a pleasure hearing Sonoko's mouth click shut.

He was about to greet his editor—until it finally sinks in that it wasn't his editor at the door, Sonoko would have screeched dramatically and thrown herself on the other girl.

_No way_. Because smiling pleasantly at him behind the gates was _Okiya_ _Subaru_.

"Fuck, brat. Your slave is here." Sonoko huffs out in a mock-disgusted voice while she did find Akai Shuuichi attractive—speaking of, _why_ was the man in disguise?—a close friend's sibling was apparently off-limits, and she made a show of that by portraying it just like that. "Ran! Your little brother's boy-toy is here!" she says dismissively, already making her way to the kitchen even though Ran pokes her head out again with a pout and scandalized look.

"Kami… Sonoko, he's not my boy-toy!"

"_Sonoko!_ Subaru-san isn't Conan-kun boy-toy! He's an FBI agent! _Oh my god._" Ran hisses the last part.

"And yet, here you are calling Shuuichi-niisan by his fake name knowing exactly who I meant, and you just called Shin'ichi-kun, _Conan-kun_." Sonoko smugly retorts while Ran pales and flushes in response.

_He really shouldn't have told them everything._

He still gets Kogorou's _love taps_ when they both happen on a crime scene—Megure and the others also slip calling him _Conan-kun_. Ran would spontaneously hold his hand while crossing the road. Not to mention Sonoko would drag him off shopping—even her _swimsuit_—asking whether or not would Makoto find her attractive.

Speaking of, Makoto would ask him to protect Sonoko—his older sister's best friend—when the other man goes off to another tournament, even though he knew that said former-shrunken detective's older sister is his own rival for the black belt, and they would have likely officially competed had Makoto not decided to claim that fighting girls were his off-limits, unless they were a criminal.

_That_ _wasn't_ _all._

Hattori and Kazuha would pat or ruffle his head—the most embarrassing ones being when his male Osakan counterpart tried to pick him up, only to result in dropping him almost immediately—_Ran_ obviously succeeded and holding him straight, she probably wouldn't have put him down had he not asked. Kazuha said that she'll pass as she'll likely end up flipping him over her shoulder (apparently her Aikido training, and carrying a weight significantly heavier than a child would make her muscle automatically assume it's an opponent).

Hattori also had this dirty habit of leaning down when trying to whisper to him—likely forgetting the fact that he wasn't quite that height anymore.

The Inspectors, the turned Inspectors from Police Detectives, and Police Detectives and Officers he worked with as Conan, frequently asked him if he needed them to give him a ride home. Even though he was about to get in _his_ _own car_.

Superintendent Kuroda still calls him the _Sleeping Kogorou's Bag Wisdom_.

_Megure _was_ the absolute worse,_ "Stay away from alleyways and shady men in black! Call us if you see some suspicious people!" is what he would say whenever they separated ways.

(In America, Jodie did the same, still calling him _'Cool Kid' _whenever he or she dropped by.

Amuro—_Furuya_—wasn't any better, only he seems to pop up out of nowhere offering him a spot in PSB for _Conan_.)

Haibara would sit back and enjoy the show, while the Professor now had to get used to calling him _Shin'ichi_ in public.

The only silver linings were the _Shounen Tantei-dan_ and _Hondou Eisuke_, for _god's_ sake!

_A year and a half _that was all he needed to adjust from the transition of turning back to _Kudou Shin'ichi_. The mental repercussion and physical aspect _combined_.

_It's been three years_—_five_ since he finally told them the truth just a month after successfully taking down the Organization. _Seven_ since he turned into Conan, and they're _still adjusting_.

—or they're all just getting back at him for too many high-pitched "Ah-le-le's," "I-saw-it-on-the-TV!" and other poor excuses.

Another thing, by some unknown consensus; he apparently couldn't properly introduce himself because they had taken to introduce him during first meetings. _He slipped one time!_

—though unnecessary, with how the media exploded that he and his cousin, _Edogawa Conan_. Spear-headed the takedown of the widespread Black Organization; rumor has it he was heavily ill and bedridden leading the raid from his hospital bed, while Conan was doing the heavy lifting in order to find the antidote that poisoned him.

The theory that got most believers, _logical_—since when he returned permanently as Kudou Shin'ichi he was deathly pale and obviously sick. (All because the interview and press conference had a shitty schedule and his immune system had shitty timing.

_And of course, a murder happened_.

"_Black Organization of Crows Can't Hope to Take Down the Original God of Death!_"—_and his family…_ was the rolling headlines for a_ month_. Crime rates dropped by 30% for the additional two months afterward.)

It was revealed that he had a low-key PTSD diagnosis according to a check-up _after_ he just had about a paranoia induced panic attack and other similar episodes—as a form of self-therapy recommended by his therapist, he tried his hand at writing. He started with a short story based on his and the kids experience in that death trap treasure mansion of Samizu Kichiemon, which was pretty much child-friendly after his omission or twists of truths to make it seem fiction but not too fictional.

It gave Sonoko some great pleasure at finding out that his first book could be considered as _children literature_. _"Once a brat, always a brat."_

_But hey,_ at least the kids had fun recalling the events, especially ones that took place outside of his perspective. Genta, of course, loved the attention.

When it got to the more gruesome cases, Shin'ichi as _Kurahashi Sumuho_, anted up the rating of his novels, together with his main characters—based on the whole, and _complete_ Detective Boy's growth, with a not-so-normal, but normal kid twist of Haibara and himself.

He'd even let them pick their own dialogues for their respective inspired character.

Needless to say, it was off the charts.

(When Hattori's inspired character came in, fans demanded more—due to the rare _supernatural_ genre introduction. Kazuha's was a side-kick that is a kind spirit guide and protector.

When Kaitou Kid's inspired character came in, the internet broke on multiple intervals for a couple of weeks.)

…

When his editor finally arrived, he was all about ready to throw his dignity out the window and beg for Ran's look-alike—though with a messy hair, to grab the manuscript and have their meeting elsewhere.

In his less child-friendly novel, he was adding a character that would be inspired by Akai Shuuichi and Okiya Subaru, while building the character though, Sonoko suddenly had this bright idea to dare _Akai_, _of all people_, to a disguise challenge that she would describe a person's personality and he would disguise himself according to it

_It was madness. _(Especially since the man went along with it! Becoming Okiya Subaru really did loosen him up.)

His editor clearly thought the same but she was more amused than anything, as if she's used to such things or seen worse—then again, her father _is_ the Head Inspector for the _Kaitou Kid_ Taskforce. Not to mention, according to Hakuba she was also the Head of the unofficial high school group that was called the Kaitou Kid Capture Brigade—and they apparently had a Kid-expert in their group who's now a low-key magician, because he primarily works as a security inspector while juggling multiple side-jobs on the side.

"Nakamori-chan…" he sighs as a greeting at her snickers.

"Good noon, Shin'ichi-sensei~" she retorts. (Kudou-sensei was his father's—this is why he took a penname, thank you very much.) "By the way, Shounen's Magazines sent you another request, they were wondering if you were willing to model?" he groans, _they were persistent_.

"No thanks." Nakamori nods with a beam, clearly expecting the reply and she just about moved to come in when he finally noticed her company—only to swear his mind froze.

He had expected Hakuba—since _of course_, they (he and Nakamori) were dating. What he did not expect was another man who looked too much like him, except for the slightly different builds, and the other man's obviously more mature look (_apparently, youth was also part of Apoptoxin's effects that he and Haibara did not see coming_), the all-too-familiar messy hair, and mischievous blue eyes that were edging on the violet spectrum.

_There was no doubt about it_. This man _is_—_was_ the Kaitou Kid. _And likely the Kid-expert Hakuba has grudgingly taken to mention._

"Oi, Ahouko, the least you can do is introduce us!" Kid whines, though there was more tease than an actual jab—also, _why was Kid looking at him like that?_—despite their friendship and truce when they helped each other with their respective Organizations, Kid was one of the people that left in the not-know.

There shouldn't be a reason as to why Kid should be looking at him with admiration, aside from that fly-by on that clock tower heist—that Shin'ichi didn't even know was Kid's heist until Kid mentioned that he (as Conan) wasn't the first challenging adversary he met—also wasn't that reminiscent of his and Hattori's first close encounter?—who's identity he never found out because Inspector Nakamori is apparently still touchy about that.

To him, Kudou Shin'ichi should be no more than just a face he never met during the takedown because the teen was likely tangoing with death on his bedside while giving instructions to the FBI.

—Not that Nakamori, Hakuba and some others knew. There was just a chosen audience that knew.

(It was the thief's own fault for missing out. And current cover says that _Conan_ is gallivanting around the globe against his will with Lupin III and his gang—who were all too happy to cooperate—if they took an orphan that was coached by his mother, father and himself, and was all-too-willing to disguise, no one else needed to know.)

So, he smiles at the former not-thief and offered his hand.

"Oh, hello. A pleasure to finally meet the famous, _Kuroba Kaito_, I've been hearing about you from Hakuba-kun and Nakamori-san. The name is Kudou Shin'ichi, but I'm sure you knew that." Kid looks at him as if he didn't expect it, but returned the smile with his own while accepting the offered hand.

"So, I've heard. A pleasure to officially meet you, Kudou-sensei." Shin'ichi twitches, face scrunching as almost everyone else already inside his house—aside from Kuroba who's still at the _genkan_—tried to stifle their laughs.

"Please, call me Shin'ichi. Kudou-sensei is my father."

.

.

.

_Was it just him or did Kuroba just lit up and beamed at him?_

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(Yes, this is a Post-Conan and Post-Kaitou Kid fic. He's been Conan for five years—**_**technically four **_**and**_** more than a half**_**—and a month after the takedown of the Organization, he chose to reveal the truth about his identity to those that didn't know yet, by giving them the absolute proof, via transforming right in front of them.**

**[So, it's almost three years since he told them. At this current timeline.]**

**The intentional teasing stems from their coping method, because they partly forgave him due to the fact that the transformation is a painful process. Also, partly from the horror when they were given the harsh truth from Haibara about the drug and Shin'ichi's chances of survival.**

_**Not **_**that they didn't smack him over it, or give him a hard time for a month. **_**Tough love**_**.**

**Ran and Shin'ichi decided to stay as siblings—since it got awkward too fast, especially since Ran slips up and treat him like Conan, while Shin'ichi responded in kind.**

**Almost the same thing happened on Kaito's side. [**_**And yes, Kaito is absolutely pining after our dear Shin-chan**_**.**

**While Shin'ichi isn't looking for relationships **_**yet**_**, especially since jokes of him being the **_**youngest**_** were going around like mad—and he **_**"obviously"**_** needs new friends, before he'd even dare try his hand at dating.]**

**This might be the cheeriest fic I've ever thought of… **_**no**_**, one of the first few, actually.**

**[What? Contrary to my active preference at writing angst-filled content, I **_**do**_** have a heart. ^^]**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	13. RI13: Making Friends, How To

**|Making Friends; How To|**

**(Random Idea 13)**

"Hello! I'm Kuroba Kaito! A pleasure to meet you~!" it took Shin'ichi a few seconds to finally realize that the transfer student didn't actually just happened to stand near his table, but was actually facing him—_more like_, leaning down to smile at him with a beaming wide grin.

"Um…" he starts but aborting it. _Sure,_ it was common courtesy to return the sentiment—also unlike the popular belief (when he'd start looking out the window and seemingly not paying attention), he _did_ listen to the teen's colorful introduction—who wouldn't? With a low-scale smoke bomb, confetti, glitter, and doves, _who does that?_ Kuroba Kaito, _apparently_—earlier, even if he only watched it from the corner of his eyes, preferring to stare out the window, even if he was occupying the seat next to the window seat.

He hasn't had much social interaction, not since he and Ran had the pleasure (and he's using that term loosely) of that body drop right in front of them during their class field trip—apparently, running into cases while his elementary classmates were present, _even by circumstance_, meant that he was cursed or a death spawn of sorts—and was promptly isolated since.

He had seen Ran—_Mouri_ make aborted motions of approaching him, but their primary school girl groupies, pulled her and Sonoko—_Suzuki_ away—and he has taken to avoiding them since. While their classmates had long since matured pass their middle school years, the rumors and isolation had left an impact. He _does_, solve cases that he happens upon, but he only needed a bare minimum of effort to speak it out anyways. Division One truly was a blessing.

However, he has long since learned that interacting with his peers was much different than interacting with fully-fledged inspectors, police detectives and forensic officers.

—and what was the point of trying to interact with people that generally feared you while you were within meter radius?

_However_, there was no way the transfer student would know that—though from their classmate's aborted movements, and fearful stares while badly pretending not to look at them (he's honestly insulted, _his mother_ was an _actress_! _Seriously_…) as the new kid cheerfully greets him, also clearly expecting a response—_oh yeah_.

"Hard not to remember your name." _Considering how extravagant you made your introduction, though I'm sure Seto-sensei of the science class this afternoon won't appreciate that_. Kuroba brightens even more—if that was possible as if Shin'ichi had just given him his Christmas Gift early, and it was still _June_.

"So you were paying attention~!"

_Of course_, it's in his obligations—his job description to _always_ pay attention, and observe. He already had a mishap of not pay attention to the fact the teen had approached _him_. Just because it was unusual and completely unexpected, didn't mean that it couldn't happen—better yet, he should have watched out for _those_ even more.

He doesn't dignify that statement with an answer, preferring to discretely glance around the room seeing how everyone seemed to watch them with bated breath, Mouri and Suzuki for one seemed awfully concern. For him or for Kuroba, he didn't know—_didn't want to know_.

And he eventually settles his eyes on Kuroba, giving him a look-over, before promptly and giving him an unspoken dismissal by staring back at nothing—even if the angle of his head left him like he was looking outside of the room.

"So, what's your name~?" did the other teen constantly bounce on the balls of his feet and drawl every sing-sang-ed words?

Also, apparently the silent message Shin'ichi tried to give him was either missed or ignored, for some reason, Shin'ichi felt it was the latter.

…_also_, _who hasn't heard of him?_

"Shin'ichi… Kudou Shin'ichi." Kuroba beams again—was his natural setting a cheer and smile? Someone, tone down the _brightness, please._

"A pleasure to meet you, Shin'ichi-kun~" _has he not heard of him, really? _Rumors were especially strong on that one. The reason, despite how he and Division One seems to get along, with a fairly camaraderie dynamic, they didn't call him by his first name because calling his _name_ apparently made his curse stronger—backed by the fact that Ran was calling his name when that body dropped, or that time when she just cheerfully addressed him in that café and some guy slumped over.

No one disguised their horrified, aborted near-silent gasp. But he heard it anyways, and he forces himself not to meet anyone's eyes for the remainder of the day.

_Because surely, Kuroba was messing with him. There was no way in hell that Kuroba didn't know about him_.

Like Nakamichi, or some other student. _Bullies_. As usual. _Kuroba was no different._

—and has he mentioned that they look eerily alike?

_Exactly, impossible._

He ignores the class for the rest of the day, keeping half an ear on their teacher's lectures—ever since the rumor's of his supposed _origins_ broke out, no sane lecturer called upon him, unless absolutely necessary during class recitations. _Some even simply skipped him_ _while giving him the marks of the highest oral reciter, or higher than that_.

(He doesn't see how Kaito's face flickered into a deep scowl, mentally glaring at everyone in the vicinity having seen the dull, glazed look in his eyes.

He doesn't notice how Kuroba's dark blue eyes, darkened even further—that the easily mistaken pair of indigos were almost black, even as he kept a tight smile on his face.)

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(I practically desk-slammed it that **_**"Oh, yes, this is KaiShin."**_

**How do I spin this? **_**I have no fucking idea. **_**[**_**Edit: As of June 2, 2019—I finally know what I'm gonna do with this one.**_**]**

**Do I want to continue this? **_**Yes**_**, **_**but I'm pretty sure there are many authors out there with similar fics. **_**[Thus, the edit and mental expansion of the plot on June 2.]**

**Will there be BO, Kaitou Kid, Snake, and/or Conan in this fic? **_**Who the fuck knows. I don't**_**. **_**I honestly haven't thought much past this scene (and some other Pre-Established KaiShin scenes.) **_**[Edit: **_**Yes**_**]**

**Why did I write this? **_**It was on the list… and I think three scrapped ideas every other idea was a bad sign—even if the first one is [was] tentative (yes, I am referring to **_**RI9**_**), so… **_**[RI9 won't be scrapped, btw.]**

**Will Ran, Sonoko, and Shin'ichi make up? **_**No? Yes? Maybe? I'm still toying around with the ideas each has a different branch to pick**_**.**

**Hattori? **_**Yes**_**.**

**Hakuba? **_**Of course.**_

**Aoko? **_**Uh-huh.**_

**Akako? **_**I like her, so yeah.**_

**Shiho/Ai? **_**Absolutely.**_

**But **_**basically**_**, kids are **_**brats**_**, they practically verbally bullied and isolated dear young Shin'ichi—whom they believe to be cursed. Yes, Shin'ichi's an introvert, and Kaito's the extrovert that just decided he likes this adorable boi, and practically barged in Shin'ichi's personal wall.**

**Shin'ichi is still an assassin-style soccer player, he's just quieter and has the **_**"Leave me alone"**_** vibe. Kaito and Hattori, of course, won't listen. Hakuba would deem that unhealthy. So would Aoko. Akako and Shiho would enjoy that from the sidelines. Ran and Sonoko still had to get over their guilt, get a grip and get their asses over there and apologize.**

**Until the next update.**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**

**[I should've published a note beforehand, but I got occupied, **_**so**_**, I was gonna post this one last week… but we had to move, and the internet took a while to re-install, I **_**could've**_** uploaded it using my phone—however, I really don't agree with my phone's Microsoft word… so… yeah. I'm uploading this together with RI14 and ASotH's much-delayed Chapter 11.]**


	14. RI14: Deity's Heir

**|Deity's Heir|**

**(Random Idea 14)**

Conan sighs when his recent unseen, metaphysical stalker stopped at the corner of an intersection, his hooded head—face covered in shadows—turned to the left of the street. He nearly groans, when apparently noticing him staring, the figure faced him with a tilted head like a curious puppy asking its owner why was he stalling for, also urging him to _go_.

He refrains because it was weird and creepy enough when he started staring into "space" that he knew he should get a move on.

He cranks up his acting skills, pretending to have dropped something on a sidewalk that he hadn't even crossed today to follow the shadowy cloaked figure as it floated quickly down the street. Leaving mist-like shadowy broken trails that seemed to tear off his cloak.

The figure stops right in front of a café, already pulling out his over-sized but stylish scythe from the insides of his robe sleeve where it shouldn't even _fit_, much less be hidden in.

—but he doubts anything was impossible for this entity. _Not_ when he personally saw the entity phase through a sold wall.

It was almost like an established unspoken routine for him to put on his gloves—because using his handkerchief all the time was getting _old_ and unhygienic—and he just about finished putting on the pair when a resounding scream echoed through the street. The figure leads the way to the café's "Employees Only" room, phasing through the crowd, while he had to skirt around them as fast as he could. (The only times he's grateful for his small stature.)

…because it was unpleasant becoming intangible and phasing through solid objects and _people_. No matter how convenient. (_Especially since everybody seems to buy his "I've been here since earlier, didn't you see me?" bullshit._)

He didn't even need to check the victim's vitals, seeing as the entity that had taken to follow him around had already pulled out a soft glowing ball of light that shifted between colors—_knowledge; knew too much then, poisoned, acquaintance, murder_—that looped, from the victim's mouth and to cage that in a glass jar so it wouldn't fly around the room erratically. (It happened once when they were alone and he accidentally spoke to the entity, shocking it and making it drop the jar that seemed to instigate a fright on the soul making it grow sugar-rush crazy bouncing all over the room, and through other rooms—though never escaping the house.

It was a comical sight with how the entity flustered and flailed after it, also occasionally bumping into walls when it didn't expect the soul to just phase through, or _go through_ walls by overreaching when it didn't.

The entity skulked when he accidentally snorted, sulking at the corners and his peripherals as if it was affronted.)

The victim was dead, so he calls Division One.

…

It wasn't always like that.

Conan could remember being unamused and rethinking what his life has come to.

As if it wasn't enough that he was shrunk, and stumbling cases upon cases every turn he takes. He has started to see a cloaked figure in every crime scene that involves death—one that seems to invisible to others. Following him around even—he's starting to think that Inspector Megure wasn't actually far from the truth when he accused him of being followed by the God of Death—when there isn't (a case or death).

It even_, honest to god, _stopped him from walking past a street by abruptly grabbing his shoulder, stepping in front of him and _point_ down the adjacent street, holding up three skeletal fingers hidden under a pair of off-white gloves that he soon realized were seconds counting down, a scream resounding the moment it hit zero.

He somehow_ wasn't _surprised to find the dead body.

…and what do you know? It was murder.

.-.

That was the first time he finally made sense of the occasional glimpse of this shadowy entity that had come in his life. However, ever since that revelation—he could constantly _see_ it. Seeing the being pull out souls after removing his gloves from the former living was disturbing since he just saw them take or heave (sometimes they don't even succeed that) their last breath as soon as the soul's connection is cut from the body. The being would put the souls in a jar until he solves the case—if it was murder—after that, it would go in the being's scythe which glowed faintly upon contact before dimming back to normal.

He soon learned the meaning of the color shifting of those softly glowing balls (souls), categorizing each and every color combination. Matching it to the circumstances and situation, while the colors played in a loop—the light flickering out to signify the end of the loop.

The order was always _why they died, what killed them, who was the reason they died, _and _how they died_.

Motive, cause of death, the relation of the deceased to someone or the culprit, and death identification (whether or not they were murdered, or was it an accident, suicide, or other natural causes.)

The moment he understood, he regretted it—while convenient, it also felt like he was cheating and something else equally dark.

(He soon understood the negative feeling, when he nearly forgot _his_ _own_ _ethics_ in a case.)

…

He learned that the moment he started seeing glowing orbs on the center of a person's torso—it meant that they were about to die, the brighter it got—the higher the possibility, until the moment that they _do_ die. Almost like a warning of sorts.

If it started out small and grew bigger—until it was about the size of a tennis ball meant it was an _accident_ or _mother nature_ waiting to happen.

If it erratically fluctuated in size; it was illness.

If it fluctuated slowly it was either of old age or just that the body cave-in and died for some unknown reason—body shutting down, even if the deceased had a spotless health record.

If it fluctuated with ripples, almost like a target, it was murder.

If it flickered in and out of existence, glowing brightly, then fizzling out—it was suicide.

—much like how it would shift between colors to tell him how they were killed, even if the first few didn't stick around for long; it would shift between the colors for _why_ and _how_ they wanted to die. It was heart-wrenching and frightening how he realized he knew how they would kill themselves _before_ they even tried it.

While the shifting of the colors didn't really specify much, it was easier to deduce it with their surroundings—even easier if he got to know the person. It was with frayed nerves, anxiety, and a mixed feeling of nausea and vertigo, while his heart pounded in his ears that he somehow managed to talk a suicidal out of committing suicide.

It still baffles him to this day, and he noted what the flickering out of the glowing orb in a person's chest meant their death was postponed.

(He wasn't naïve enough to think they wouldn't die.)

.-.

A color that starts with white and _blinks _rapidly through the color codes (unlike the gradient-like swipe shifting) meant he could still save the person on the brink of death, especially if the being only removed one glove (ungloved hands—skeletal as they were—meant immovable death)—the moment he realized that, and he only noticed because the soul still had a near unnoticeable string connecting to the body, he had jolted into action—for a small amount of time.

Too early and he could risk the person going into shock—and inevitably succumbing to death for relief.

Too slow, and he was too late.

He needed the timing to be just right, depending on _why_ they were about to die anyway.

(He wonders, without this _unique_ sight of his, would he have saved that man that was all but declared dead had he not seen the state of the soul?

Even if everyone else stared at him with baffled wonder by the end of it. It was worth it.

_He saved someone._)

…

It just about nearly gave him a heart attack when _Ayumi_ had a glowing orb that sang in the pattern of _accident-waiting-to-happen_ and started _blinking_. He didn't think of the consequences he didn't even need to see the speeding car coming from the side as he pushed the girl out of the way.

He didn't even feel the pain as the world exploded and rang in his ears, feeling numb and awfully heavy as he steadily lost consciousness.

The entity at the edge of his blurry, spotty and dimming vision shook its head.

—and were those _eyes?_ The being didn't have that glowing pair of eyes(?) before.

Haibara's panicked face soon blocked the sight of his stalker, yelling something frantically at him, before he felt himself _slip_.

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(I was actually gonna call this "God in Making" but **_**meh**_**, too common. **

"**Deification" isn't technically accurate, even if applicable. **

"**Apprentice" is just a typeful. [**_**Not mouthful**_**, because that's not the longest word I've said.]**

**Also… shouldn't this be considered as an info-dump?**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	15. RI15: 一 Ichi

**|一(Ichi)|**

(Random Idea 15)

Shin'ichi wanted to hiss and swear profusely when he found his phone in smithereens. (Well, on the bright side the information was still sent to the PSB, as it was programmed to, however, that meant everything he had gathered is sent, albeit the PSB will assume he died from the alert.) He could have thought it through, however, a simple trod, or wobble sent his head into a painful reverb, thinking hurt even more but he knew that he couldn't be found in the same spot the Organization spotted him, so he forces himself to trudge to a few buildings over.

He didn't know how far he got, but eventually his body as unnerving small as it was caved-in to fatigue; and he found himself dropping to the floor, a glance around the unfamiliar surroundings and surrendered to the exhaustion, deeming it enough.

Just before the last of his consciousness slipped away, he heard people yelling.

(And in the back of his head, he pats himself on the back for abandoning his pants—those were too big anyway; his green jacket, shoes, and boxers throwing them inside the trash bin, including his phone—and keeping his hooded blue sweatshirt.)

.-.

When he wakes up, he feels someone wrapping something—a bandage—around his head, gentle and soft enough that he could have convinced himself it wasn't there had it not been for the fact that his hair pressed rather uncomfortably matted against other hairs, clumping around and against his head—though notably away from the wound.

There was someone—no, rather _someones_—talking over him, but their voices slipped in and out of his comprehension, and his head felt sore, his skin itched against the odd-cotton against his skin. And while it was against his parents' teachings he lets out a pained moan and pries himself to struggle awake.

As if triggered by some chain reaction, the people silenced and a gentle voice started talking to him, asking him how he felt and other relevant questions.

Thinking back on how close he got to being found out, not to mention the fact that Gin thinks he should be dead, he had to find a way to slip into the background. So, on the spot; he fabricates a cover story—but for now, let's play the classic of temporary amnesia, shall we?

…

The act went off without a hitch, and it _stings_ because he just lost a bet with his mother—and _now_ he has to learn disguises from hew, and he doesn't even think of trying to cover it up, knowing that woman, she'll find out.

The advantage of them believing he's an amnesiac is the fact he can just claim to be someone unknowing of their past, let them build his background, it's more convenient that way. The disadvantage is—they're moving him to the Beika Police Hospital, and knowing the place rather intimately he knows they would take samples, and it would be leaked that he's Kudou Shin'ichi, therefore he needed to find a way to slip under the radar completely.

But it would be more dangerous to pull a disappearing act now, so what could he do—

A telephone catches his attention, and he then mulls over how he could—

"Just stay right here and draw something for a while, okay?" the woman that had been treating his head and carrying him, put him down on her office chair and laying down a box of crayons and a sheet of paper in front of him, then going outside of said office—that has no windows to the other room, except for the small window on the door that is blocked by white plastic blinders anyway.

Almost like a coiled spring, he snaps into action the moment the door is shut, he reaches for the receiver, punching in a string of numbers on the dial pad, and on the last digit, the line makes the false dial-tone and listening for the three wavers in pitch—that somehow sounds clearer now, he pushes in the next code, followed by his personal code and the line connects. Ringing twice before the phone on the other end is picked up.

_"So, you survived, I'm assuming your phone's broken?"_ _Did they know about you? _Shin'ichi then curses himself for _not_ training in voice modulation—but the man would recognize him, surely? The man has been his godfather all these years, after all, so he purposely doesn't use the whiny and 'come-pity-me' tone, but his lower octave one.

"Yes, I had a rather unpleasant encounter with the silver bane and his dog, though they didn't recognize me. Not to mention, the infamous _Prototype Detective_." _No._ The man paused that his shock was palpable that Shin'ichi could feel it weighing on him, likely stunned as he was when Shin'ichi first woke up to find himself abnormally smaller than he should be. The man audibly disguises a swallow with a cough as if to clear his throat, then asks,

_"Where are you?"_ glancing at the clock, subtracting that from the time he approximately was knocked out, and taking note of the sync date—which, not even a day has passed, mentally evaluating the distance and the travel time it would take, plus treatment and him regaining consciousness, he answers.

"The infirmary clinic in Tropical Land, the doctor is likely coming back soon, and because I pretended to be an amnesiac—and they'll likely assume that I'm from some underground conduct, or abused by a neglective family—and transfer me to the Beika Police Hospital in a few, can you handle the rest?"

_"I'm on it."_ his godfather hangs up, and Shin'ichi wipes his fingerprints off the receiver's handle and most of the dial pad, before quickly grabbing a black crayon, pulling the phone closer, and doing a botched attempt at drawing it.

He had drawn two other objects from the room (pulling them closer if they're within reach), and touching other surfaces to make the ones on the phone seem natural when the doctor comes back in followed by an officer.

As expected they were transferring him to the aforementioned hospital, where he is given a bath, a recheck on his body, taking pictures to document his wound and bruises, then they took samples of his fingerprints, as he expected, and blood. And he hopes Kuroda had done whatever it was on his end—because he really didn't need anyone finding out he's in an ill-fitting body.

But mostly, because the amnesiac act is getting old and tedious to keep up.

.-.

They tried to put him under an MRI scan, and he let them—throwing a tantrum seemed counterproductive, not like he could fight them back if they knock him unconscious. And now, he's catered in a different room while "the adults" discuss the "boring" stuff outside; what an anomaly is he when he wanted to hear and listen to them. But he tampers the temptation down.

Fingers fiddling with the ties on his hospital clothes, clearly they were worried. He manages to not tense—too much—when they opened the door to come back in, glancing up at them, making sure to widen his eyes. The doctor smiles gently at him, as an attempt of comfort and assurance.

"Boy, the officers want to ask you some questions…" and inwardly he groans, pulling up the amnesiac boy persona, boxing up Kudou Shin'ichi's memories, he allows himself to glance worriedly and fearfully at the officers outside. Scanning them like a traumatized child would before nodding hesitantly.

…

_One week and three days_. He was ready to burst out of the hospital, _consequences be damned_, nurses and doctors kept a close watch on him—but thankfully, neither of them found out he's Kudou Shin'ichi, which meant his godfather had done his part.

Then a doctor comes in with a conflicted look—_good_, this means that his godfather is here.

"Taro-kun?" he perks up at the given name. The doctor continues. "We couldn't find your parents, so these nice officers will take care of you." she trails off, clearly uncertain, and the officer, Kazami—his mind whispers, nods at her to smile gently at him as best as he could. Which is hilarious, the man really was bad in pretending when it doesn't concern his stoic-ness.

But he nods anyway, subdued. The doctor glares at the man, but there was nothing to be done.

"We'll take care of you, young man. Please, wear these clothes." Kazami presents to him a paper bag, glancing inside he nearly groans in relief at the familiar sight of his more casual clothes, with a nod he accepts the bag, jumping down from the bed and into his private bathroom—one he close shut but lets it open slightly from not letting go of the knob at the right time.

"What is the PSB's business with him?" he hears the doctor asks—and no wonder they got clearance so easily, from the tone of her voice, she's obviously a collaborator.

"That's the PSB's business." _You aren't qualified_. Shin'ichi hears the woman's glare, but she clears her throat.

"Here. These are his files." Kazami must have nodded from the lack of vocal response, deciding that he's stalled enough, he quickly changes into his outdoor clothes and folding the hospital robes—stopping midway, and redoing it to make it a sloppy fold. Leaving them on the stepping stool. He goes out of the room gaining the agent and collaborator's attention.

Kazami nods approvingly, then to the woman.

"Well then, we'll take our leave." Shin'ichi ignores the woman's scrunched up face, reaching for the man's hand and grips it firmly in his, letting the man lead them to his car parked outside—_woah, is that an FD-7?!_

When Kazami helps him into the back passenger seat, the man slides into the front passenger seat, turning to the blond man behind the wheel.

"Thank you, Furuya-san." Shin'ichi watches, stunned—while he knows _Zero's_ _name_, he hasn't personally seen the man, nor does he have knowledge of the man's face—they were against the rules. But here he is, and he couldn't help but hungrily take in the man's details, matching them with his mental files, and filling in the blanks.

Taking note of the man's driving technique, habits—the ones he could spot, at least—as he pulled out of the loading area to the street outside.

"Don't mention it, it's not every day I get a request from my junior… so this is him?" speaking of—what did his godfather say as an order to get them to pick him up? "The Commanding Officer's grandson?" Kazami's face scrunches up, clearly confused, but he nods.

"Yes…" neither him nor Zero missed the reluctance.

"A problem?" Furuya—Zero, or should he refer to him as _Furuya?_ _Damnit, this will be hell to correct_.

"According to 4613, he has amnesia and barely remembers anything, not even his name…" Kazami responds, and from the rustling of papers; Shin'ichi knows he's looking through his files. Furuya glances at them, brows furrowed, clearly troubled himself—neither of them were paying him any attention—which Shin'ichi wasn't too ashamed to take advantage of, they were presenting him an ample moment to eavesdrop, who was he to not take advantage?

"May I?" Furuya asks, voice even. Kazami nods, and Furuya takes quick glances on the street and on the files. His expression getting tighter and tighter—Shin'ichi wonders what's actually written there, he could deduce what's on there, however, he doesn't know Zero enough to know what would tick the man off.

"That's…" _not good_… Shin'ichi mentally fills in when the man doesn't continue, deciding to focus on driving instead. Then an idea couldn't help but bloom in his mind, glancing at the back of the men's heads, he inwardly smirks.

Furuya gets out of his car first, as Kazami helps him out—though unnecessary, Shin'ichi lets the man assist him since he was just doing his job. "Are you alright?"

—apparently, they just noticed how he's too quiet for a child, and Shin'ichi finds that hilarious—

"Oh, he's just fine." Shin'ichi smirks, hearing the man's voice.

"Commander…" both Zero and Kazami tenses, clearly having not seen the man, squaring their shoulders with a nod of acknowledgment and respect. Feeling Kazami's arms slack around him, he bends his body, forcing the man to let him go, flipping on the air and landing on the ground, and his godfather chuckles. Smirking himself, he turns around to face the man—and sure enough, he was smirking too.

"You're breaking the rules_._" Shin'ichi's lips quirked, feeling both Furuya and Kazami tense even further, staring at him. "_You know_ I'm not supposed to know Zero's identity, _Hyoue-jii_." Kazami chokes, and Zero is blissfully silent and Kuroda Hyoue, his godfather and foster-uncle to his father, throws his head back in guffawed laughter.

Glancing at the mirror behind their so-called _Commanding Officer_, he himself snorts at the stunned faces of Kazami and Furuya.

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(This… is not the last you'll see of ideas like this, ****here our Shin'ichi has been involved with the PSB since he was a baby.**

**It's the little details that're different.**

**Until the next update!**

**—DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**

[Also, regarding** ASotH's Chapter 12**, I am having trouble wording it… like I have the exact scene playing in my head, but I dunno how to word it, _yet_. So, I might update that next week… for now, I hope you guys like this.]


	16. RI16: 4194-1412-8106

**|4194-1412-8106|**

(Random Idea 16)

Shin'ichi sighs as he hears Hattori's slew of curses from the room while he was still walking down the hall.

"Hattori-kun sure is touchy." Kaito hums next to him, apparently having stepped in-line with him, their shoulder's brushing against each other as Kaito goes into his personal space to glance at the clipboard cradled in his arm.

"That's the files on the FBI?" Shin'ichi nods and Kaito lets out an impressed whistle. "I knew you were great when it comes to gathering information from foreign secret intelligence agencies, but these are astounding, Shin-chan!"

"Drop the _-chan_" Shin'ichi sighs, knowing exactly how futile his efforts were. As expected Kaito doesn't even acknowledge what he just said.

"Seriously, how? Tell me did you hack—" knowing exactly what Kaito's question is, he responds cutting the other teen off before he could finish.

He can't be the instigator why the infamous hacker Kaitou Kid tried his hand on getting information from secret intelligence agencies overseas, that's Shin'ichi's—or as he is more commonly known as over the social media: Cool Kid (_that _is _not _his fault, his mother started it, or was it his godmother?)—department.

"Nothing _completely _illegal, I simply forked in favors from the Interpol, and the FBI was all too willing to comply." Shin'ichi shrugs noting that the teen next to him shudders.

"This is why the PSB wants us to remain as Collaborators." Kaito says dryly and Shin'ichi agrees, though he doesn't voice it. "Terrifying…" the teen mutters, though clearly more directed at him and Shin'ichi snorts, inwardly squaring his shoulders. His father does have connections, but his connections were also nothing to scoff at.

He was about to make a response when Hattori yells from the meeting room. Sighing and exchanging an equally amused glance with Kaito, they move.

"They wer' da ones who illegally entered Japan! An' they think they can jus' stomp on alluv ou' har' work?!" Shin'ichi sighs again because while he understands Hattori's sentiment, _he really does_, however, they are also dealing with a multinational criminal, underground organization, it should be right to actually work on setting allegiance with the foreign secret intelligence agencies early than late.

"Ah, is he talking about Akako and Haku-bastard?" Kaito voices, audible but most likely not to Hattori.

"Don't encourage him."

"Well, he's not completely wrong, Shin-chan. However, he's not right either. I checked their student information, migration papers, and other papers… it all checks out."

"You checked it?" Kaito then gives him a dry look.

"You only have Miyano-san in your class… I'm dealing with both Koizumi and Hakuba, ungrateful prick."

"Aw… poor baby, want me to kiss the hurt away?" he drawls, sending a lazy smug smirk at the magician and hacker's way. Who would have likely bristled like an irked, hissing cat in response.

"Sod off, Shin'ichi, _please_. I can only handle one person with that personality, with Hakuba having _that_ as his default is one too many." Shin'ichi chuckles at the rather unimpressed tone.

"I was here first though?"

"And that makes you bearable and attractive, he's just a stuck-up prick."

"You're also an ass, you know that right?"

"Blasphemous! I'm only the BEST of the BEST!" snorting, Shin'ichi thinks it over, thinking back on Ran and Conan's input about Hakuba from when they met him.

"Hakuba has already met Ran and Conan… he didn't have _that _long of an exposure to both—" Kaito stares and cackles.

"Ooh, you're evil~" smiling at the other teen, he retorts.

"I learned from the best." Kaito beams at him, and it was worth it, seeing Hattori's irked face that was anted up at seeing them both, Kaito clinging onto him like a limpet with a megawatt smile.

"Kami, Kudou the fuck'dya do ta 'im…" Shin'ichi smirks at his fellow detective and Hattori twitches, making him just smirk wider.

"_Fuck_, I knew Kuroba was a bad influence on ya." he hisses.

Kaito just beamed brighter.

…

Saguru stares, unable to comprehend the scene in front of him. The day had started innocently enough, then Nakamori-san invited him, Kuroba and Koizumi on an outing with her other friends from Beika.

Upon discrete inquiry, he manages to acquire the information that they're meeting up with Mouri Ran, her two childhood friends, and other friends, and Edogawa Conan and his friends.

That fact that Kuroba hadn't kicked up much fuss should have clued him into it, yet he decided to foolishly ignore said bad feeling.

Until it was too late.

He makes sure not to give away he already knew Miyano during the introductions, he and Hattori exchanged less than stellar words.

However, one he didn't expect was; for Kuroba Kaito, his top suspect to be the _Kaitou Kid_ to exclaim with much cheer, hugging a disgruntled Edogawa Conan and a slightly amused Kudou Shin'ichi—who, according to his superiors in the FBI, is his challenger for the Modern Holmes title as a detective, it didn't help that Kudou's cousin and adopted younger brother is practically a mini-Kudou Shin'ichi, and the teen's apprentice.

But unlike Edogawa, Kuroba kept his arms looped around Kudou's neck and shoulders, face too close to the other teen's face for it to be considered as appropriate.

"Damnit Kudou, control yer puppy-boyfrien'! An' get a fuckin' room, da bothuv ya!" Hattori exclaims and Hakuba inwardly swears, feeling his mind break.

Hattori may be hot-headed, but the teen should at least be suspicious, right? Not to mention, _Kudou_, who's apparently Sherlock Holmes in all but blood and name, should've noticed something, _right_?

He hears his mind crack even further when neither Kudou nor Kuroba move or say anything to dissuade the Osakan's claims, Kudou merely glancing amusedly at the Detective of the West, while Kuroba leaned his weight and tightened his arms around the detective even more.

"Nakamori-san, is this why Kuroba-kun is unlike the other boys of the class?" Koizumi's question doesn't help, and neither does Nakamori's rather nonchalant response.

"You _could_ say that."

…

Kaito snickers lowly, hiding his wide smirk on Shin'ichi's neck making Shin'ichi's lips twitch just a tad bit. His partner was clearly enjoying the entertainment that is Hakuba Saguru's facial expression and the likely breaking of his mind.

And to be honest, Shin'ichi's entertained himself, as cruel as it sounds. After all, this prank is his idea. And as Hattori has said a long time ago, Shin'ichi's pranks were far worse than Kaito's, for the lasting mental impact they present.

(Hey, it was all on Hattori, he's the one that jumped into conclusions that Shin'ichi was apparently shrunken into Conan—and knowing his cousin-turned-brother, the boy took advantage of it.

The act, of course, was revealed when Conan got shot—Ran was in on it, and Conan started laying out how dangerous it was for Ran to find out. And multiple Kudou Shin'ichi—of course, Kaito helped, he couldn't pass up such opportunity—was the result, with a speechless, gaping Hattori Heiji.

Ran, bless her heart, laughed out loud. They did get him good.)

This time though, it wasn't just him nor Kaito in the prank, Conan, Ai, Sonoko, Ran and _Aoko _are in the prank.

(Even though Ai, Sonoko, Ran and Aoko didn't know about Hakuba and Koizumi being FBI, nor did they know, him, Kaito, Conan, and Heiji are part of the PSB either.)

Apparently, when Kaito decided to hide his smirk on his neck, Hakuba's mind went into another track and he flushed an adorable rosy color, wanting to test how far red the teen would go, Shin'ichi makes a show as if he's affected but trying not to let it show.

It was easy; a hitched breath, a slow exhale, a slight bodily squirm, and as if a reflex to respond to the ministrations. And boom, they have a PDA-act.

As expected, Hakuba turned into a deep red, and Koizumi looks away with a cough and a pink tint on her cheeks.

Hattori was a completely different story, turning completely red before exploding.

"Go' dam'it bothuv ya! Dere 're kids 'ere!" which, of course, catches the Detective Boys' attention. Kaito doesn't disappoint, settling himself into a more "innocent" pose just as the kids turn to look.

"I don't see the problem, Heiji-niichan." Ayumi, bless her pure soul, says as she looks at them.

To her, it was just Kaito-niichan being clingy to Shin'ichi-niichan again because Kaito-niichan is a physical person who loves and misses Shin'ichi-niichan.

"That's right, isn't Kaito-oniisan being as clingy as always? There's nothing different from what they usually do." Mitsuhiko adds, making Hattori choke and Hakuba stop breathing. Koizumi stares at them with some sort of dumbfounded wonder.

"Are you saying friends that love each other can't hug each other?!" Genta demands, and _god _Shin'ichi loves these kids. Hattori makes a strangled noise, Hakuba a winded one, and Koizumi coughs again.

"I think Heiji-niichan's just touchy about gay people." Haibara adds, and yes, there's an evil smirk right there. Hattori makes an aborted noise of protest but is silenced by the chorused disappointment from the children.

"Shame on you, Hattori-nii, you should just let them love who they want." Conan adds with a mix of a matter-of-fact and a disappointed tone. The kids make a determined chorus of agreement.

Hattori whines, Hakuba chokes, and Koizumi completely faces and turns her body the other way.

Has Shin'ichi mentioned how much he loves these kids?

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(Boredom strikes, and here's the preview… I swear this one is not as light as it sounds.**

**But yes, another AU. And yes, as it implies, Aoko, Ran, Kaito, Shin'ichi and Hattori met way before canon timeline. No shrinking-potion this time.**

**Like I said on the previous update, not the last of it.**

**Also, kinda late to ask this, but in Hattori's accent, am I making it too thick, is it annoying, should I stop it and just use normal words? Except for 'fer', 'ya', and 'tah'?**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**

[_**Holy shit**_, I just found the original preview (on June 25, my brother's birthday)—_you know the one that disappeared?_—of RI10! Guuuys. I am thanking and lamenting my past self. I forgot that whenever I make a new chapter, I clone the word document I just edited, and sometimes bulk copy that and rename them into their title or title-verse (series)-to-be.

I mean in my DCMK Revisions folder (which is actually titled as: **Random Ideas; Cut-scenes**) I have more than 50 document files at ready, 1 - 47 being clones of the old tentative preview of RI2, and 48 – 53 from idea 48. 1 – 18 are done (except for 11, but there's a seedling planted now~ I just dunno when I'll get in the mood of typing it), so are 27, 29, 39, and 48.

(As of now, 1 – 16 are posted.)

As to why the original RI10 was bulk-copied, because it was with my final format (since I changed my word document font format, and was not feeling up to editing it when I'm typing my **Random Ideas M; Cut-scenes **[Yes, coming soon **DCMK Revisions Mature Edition**, have RiM1 typed, but I don't wanna update that weekly and spoil ASotH (which, again, is RiM2).

So I'll upload that when I'm about to finish ASotH] because I rely solely on my mood, and my previous font was annoying, so I apparently used RI10 as my base for it… damnit, I had 9 copies of it, just differently named in my laptop alone, _18 _on my phone.)

In my defense, I had already typed RiM1 by then, and it was done, plus I kept the file open… I thought the other 9 files were copies of it.

Now, I feel embarrassed. But I and humidity _and_ heat, plus short-temper and my period, never work well.

Someone is still dying because I said someone would. I'm not taking down the notes either, it's funny (_hilarious_) rereading it.

Though, should I post the original? Hmm… _maybe_, make a discarded pile, because god knows how many times I write a scene alone.

Also, also, I switched Night Princess to Princess Nightingale (which was the original nickname, but I forgot,)]


	17. RI17: Detective Tooru

**|Detective Tooru|**

(Random Idea 17)

Rei moans in reminiscent of the pain that racked his body, a few minutes after he was forced to ingest the pill—

—eyes snapping wide open, he looks around the darkened alley, trying to look for his friend, _there!_

"Hiro…!" he rasps, wobbling and stumbling as he tries to reach his best friend. _Was it just him or were his clothes annoyingly big?_

Shoving said thoughts to the backburner of his mind, he mentally celebrates when he finally reached the other teen, hands immediately grasping for a pulse. Finding it—if a bit fast paced—but _alive _nonetheless, he sighs in relief, only to sense something odd from the back of his head. Brows furrowing, he stares at his hand and arm, then at the back of Hiro's head, neck and shoulders.

Something was triggering his senses that something was _wrong_. Looking around, he tries to look for their third party, biting his lower lip when he doesn't see Akai, as much of a bastard that rebellious teen is, he's still Rei's friend—not that Rei'd ever admit that aloud, but last he remembered was for their long-haired childhood friend sprinting to buy them time by leading on the silver-haired one—who didn't even care about their surroundings and threw a knife after the teen.

Only the bulky one and an older man cornered them. He doesn't know how long he'd been unconscious, and he doesn't know where Akai is nor does he know if Akai's alive.

He doesn't know what actually urged him to do it, considering his ever done it while Hiro was still awake, but he cups his hand around Hiro's neck, mentally measuring his fingers—_why were they so short?_

"Nghh… Zero-o?" Hiro groans and Rei is hit with another realization.

_His voice was high pitched, almost like a…_

His eyes trail over to the darkened window across them, reflecting back to them their now dwarf-like figures, and he gapes.

…_like a child._

…

"What do we do now?" Hiro asks after they both got up and woke themselves up enough to know they weren't dreaming nor were they having a strangely elaborate lucid nightmare.

Rei stares, stunned at how Hiro easily recollects and composes himself, folding up his too long pant legs and shirt sleeves, deciding to turn his jacket into a make-shift cloak.

Rei fumbles, unused to his now short fingers, folding his own sleeves and pant legs and looking at his coat in confusion. It would be too heavy to turn into a cloak. Not to mention, he isn't confident in his skills to be able to navigate his body—

"Zero?" he jolts, tilting his head to look straight ahead and upon seeing bulky pants, he cranes his neck up, astonished by simply how Hiro is just standing over him, natural as he can be as if nothing changed and he was just simply on another day out with his friends.

He resists gaping when Hiro decides that he apparently has gotten his attention and decided to pace around, without even a wobble or stumble, muttering about.

Hiro never ceases to surprise him.

Before he could form a coherent response, his mind _finally_ rebooting—light flashed into the alley from their backs, and instinctively, they both turn to the source while using their hands and arms to give shade on their eyes.

"Oh, just like what he said." Rei was just about ready to bite off whoever's hand that was that reached for them when an awfully familiar voice, one he doesn't hear unless they were talking with Akemi on her rare off-days from whatever institute she attends, speaks up.

"Careful, he looks ready to bite… just like what Akai-kun said." Rei stops at hearing the bastards name until he notices that he actually _yelled _Akai's name earlier, who's to say they weren't some clean-up group for those men earlier?

Not to mention, Akai is _Akai's _surname, it could be anyone! But alas, the distraction was one second too many, as the man apparently took advantage of it and grabbed the scruff of his shirt, followed by Hiro's—who curses himself.

Next thing he knows, he's thrown to the back passenger seat of the car, hitting a body that would be smaller than his, had he been a teen and likely crushing the kid next to—_a grunt._ And he recognizes that voice, _anywhere_. Even if it's almost a decade since he last heard it.

His head snaps up, and as expected, his eyes meet dark green-eyes paired with those distinguishable thick lashes.

"Shuu!" Hiro exclaims happily, like an overexcited puppy, and before Rei could fully lift himself off their third, Hiro clambers inside the car, with less grace than he presented earlier when pacing. Bumping into him, and sending Rei tumbling into Akai's lap, face on the not-child's chest—Akai has always been infuriatingly tall.

He doesn't even need to look up to know that Hiro is hugging Akai, with how the bastard grunted in acknowledgment.

Then he hears a rustle and thumps, likely his jacket and shoes, together with Hiro's and the car door shut behind them, the doors on the front opening but shut just as quick as the two people slid into their respective seats—

—and he gapes at the sight of Akemi's older sister, hair still curly at the head and just short on her shoulders, they make eye contact on the rear-view mirror, and he watches as recognition flickered in the woman's greyish eyes.

Before the contact is cut off when the woman, _Shiho_, reverting her gaze to the road. Hands on the wheel, he hears the click of the doors locking, and the engine revs up.

"You guys might want to sit properly." Shiho speaks, a smirk on her face, the engine whining in response as if a warning and he and Hiro scrambles to settle themselves. The man next to her sighs and Rei finds himself wondering whether or not this man is his only girl childhood friend's sister's boyfriend.

Any further thoughts are cut off when the car skids to the road, speeding recklessly, with cutting sharp turns through the silent night and streets.

…

"Everyone alive?" the man asks, and Rei feels like his legs are one of a newly born fawn with how weak and unstable they feel. He nods in response, glancing at his friends, he sees similar responses and Akai looks quite pale, glad in the back of his mind that he wasn't alone in that department. He tunes in when the man speaks.

"I told you to keep it slow… you scared them." the man says with an admonishing tone and Shiho narrows her eyes at him.

"I don't want to hear that from you, you're worse. If I may remind you." Rei can't help but feel faint at the implication that there was even a worse driving compared to that one hell of a rollercoaster ride. Well, she _wasn't _bad at driving, per see. She has some mad, stunt, awe-inspiring driving skills. However, it truly wasn't for the faint of heart.

The man, whose name he hasn't got yet, smiles sheepishly as if caught.

"Aw, com'on, Haibara… don't be like that." Rei's brows furrows, who the hell was _Haibara_? Wasn't her name Miyano Shiho?

The woman glares at him.

"Whether or not you're aware of it Kudou-kun—" she hisses at him when a ringing phone cuts off her line. Eyes narrowing at the black phone she nods to it. "You better answer that, it's Ran-san." _Kudou_ hisses a curse, before fumbling for the said phone to quickly answer.

"Ah, yes Ran-neechan~?" Rei blinks, dumbfounded at the complete switch of personalities. The man had talked during the car ride, it was unnerving with how calm, and lowly monotonous his voice was, and _now_ it was like he was talking like a child, who was still sweet when he grew up. The man nods, a grin on his face and Rei is stunned by the fact he hadn't smiled like that to the woman—whom he curiously called _Haibara_.

"I'm with Haibara right now—_no_, Ran-neechan, it's _not_ a date, I swear." he groans, and next to him Haibara chuckles. "Yes, I'm staying over at—_no_, I swear, it's nothing like that!" he whines, and his protests continue for a few lines before he steers the conversation around on the woman on the other end of the line.

"Yes, I and Haibara will be there—" he grunts when Haibara elbows his side, but he continues. "—_no_, not as my plus one, you know how Mitsuhiko feels about that. Yeah, we'll see you then, but if you could? We have something to take of—_yes_, it's work." and the call drops only then did Rei realize neither Hiro, Akai nor himself made any attempts of escaping the vehicle.

Akai must have read something on his face, because his hands are wrapping around his wrist, and gives him a firm shake of the head. Kudou glances at them, and Rei stares, because this man is the _Kid Killer_, and the Public Face for the formerly named Teen Detective Agency who has connections to multiple international and foreign intelligence agencies. And if the rumors were to be believed, Japan's very own secret police.

And it doesn't make any sense, _Haibara _called him _Kudou_, wasn't he named _Edogawa Conan_, though? (_Sure,_ he recalled the fact that he was related to the famous Kudou family, but he never heard of any name change.)

"Why don't we take this inside?" Rei's head snaps up to meet Kudou's sapphire blue eyes.

The man smiles.

…

Rei put on the clothes the woman gave to him, together with Hiro and Akai, they stepped out of the closet room and he can't help but glance at the two adults that were whispering at each other, faces clipped and grim.

Something must have given them away despite the fact that they approached as silently as they could, because the man turns to them, and smiles easily, yet no less genuinely.

Then the man has them seated on a couch across them, and Rei partly marvels at how much like a mansion the house looks—and from the man's apparent ease at navigating the house, he owns the place. Inwardly, Rei wonders if the man's detective job really does pay that much.

The woman, has her legs and arms crossed as she looked at them with a narrowed gaze as if she was dissecting them or something.

"Haibara Subaru and Tooru," Rei blinks when she points at Akai for Subaru and him at Tooru. He was about to ask what she was talking about because they do have names of their own when she continues as if nothing had changed in his facial expression. "Both of you will be my cousins from different fathers who will be my mother's brothers. Due to unexpected circumstances, both of you are left to my care as both of your parents are busy."

"Excuse me?" Rei asks, and Shiho, _Haibara_ glares at him.

"Right as of this moment, neither of you exists, you need to establish your identities. Kudou-kun, you'll handle the other?" Rei could do nothing but watch as Kudou nods.

"I've heard that my father's sister had a son some years ago, it's nice to officially meet you, Edogawa Haru. Now… who wants to have a story time while they have dinner?"

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(If anyone can think of a better name for Hiro, feel free to suggest, I'm really bad at it—though seeing as I haven't officially met him… **_**so**_**.**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	18. RI18: Whisperer

**|Whisperer|**

(Random Idea 18)

Conan glared at Yoshi's owner, who by all means, is pretending to be as innocent as best she can and it's making something hot and ugly seethe inside of him, like a persistent and never-ending chasm of copious boiling miasma.

Pinning all her crimes to her cat—

_'Is my human's man okay, Shin'chi-san?' _Conan nearly wants to grow fangs and claws right there and then, just to frighten the woman. Though he'd rather not end up getting experimented on, he'd like to keep his body as needle-and-pill-free as possible, the Apoptoxin and Haibara were already stretching it enough.

He could just intimidate this woman like how he did on the other suspects, but that wasn't his current concern catching sight of a worried flick of the tail and a twitch of the ears from the cat.

So he pets and rubs the cat's head, running his fingers down the cat's spine, he leans down and whispers.

"I'm sorry." _Stay calm_. Yoshi's tail flicks harshly, ears perking up, eyes widened and the pupils narrowing into slits. Body tensing as if he's ready to lunge, but stills himself, understanding the message.

_'But my human said it was fine to play with him.' _the cat whispers in a high pitched whine and a mewl. Conan's forces to keep his face blank, but eyes showing the cat exactly what he wanted to convey fingers making a steady firm grip around the cat's body.

_She lied._

He immediately rubs the cat's back and pulling him into a small embrace, the cat lets out a rumble but stays still.

_'What will happen now?'_ Conan sighs but tells the cat the truth.

_You'll find a new human, and I'll expose her to the police. _

_'What for?'_

_To arrest her._

_'But why? I'm the one who—' _Conan hisses lowly.

_No, _he admonishes firmly, _she used you. She killed her mate, using __**you**__. _Finally, comprehension sinks in and Yoshi backs down, and Conan pats his head with a nod, then he works on the case.

A Sleeping Kogorou, the trick-and-evidence reveal later, the woman is arrested, and the animal shelter agents are about to take Yoshi away when—

_'NO! Don't you dare touch me filthy human!'_ aloud yowl echoed in the room._ 'You already have too many scents on you!'_ Conan would have laughed that is until the cat perches himself on his shoulders, hissing at everyone and anyone that tried to take him from the boy. Back arched warningly, claws clinging to Conan's shirt, but thankfully not cutting through his skin.

Growling and letting out strangled mewls when they tried to pull him off.

_'No! I got a new human! Shoo! You already have too many! And the fact that you don't understand me at all, tells me you don't understand the others—Ow, that hurts… Stoooooop!'_ Conan sighs, gesturing for the agent to stop, when no one moved, the cat visibly calmed down at the sight but remained hanging on Conan's shirt. Sighing again, he gently pulls out the claws from the material.

_They're caretakers of the animal shelter, they'll take care of you until you find a new huma—_

_'But you're my new human.' _Conan blinks.

_I also smell like other animals though?_ The cat's eyes narrowed as if to tell him _"Duh."_

_'Yeah, but you can understand me and who knows when I will be taken by a new human again! Animal shelter is just like the human prison! No one's willing to listen to you talk. Only feeding you, letting you play for a bit, bathe and sleep! They completely don't understand you!'_ Conan stares before he deadpans.

_Why do you know that but not what murder is?_

The cat preens, chest puffing out as if to present himself proudly—then someone takes that time to move closer, only for Yoshi to whip around, hissing threateningly and once more digging his claws into Conan's clothes.

Ran sighs, smiling amusedly.

"He really likes you, doesn't he, Conan-kun?" she giggles, and Yoshi _beams_ at her with a quick cheer of _'She understands me and she's not against it that means I can stay, right?!'_ to him, then another growl at the shelter agents when they tried to move again.

(Kogorou's protests fell on deaf ears, which eventually silenced when Ran threatened him.)

…

"Bad Tantei-kun! Stand back!"

"What the hell Kid?! Why do you even have a water spray bottle?!"

Everyone else stares—despite the fact that both male's guards were completely open; _or seemed open—_considering_ who they are, _one can_ never _be too sure. The scene was something out of a bad comedy show that wouldn't actually get many laughs, but hilarity.

Kid has been known to gallivant like a big-time prankster and magician, and a _thief_ that gives out coded notices to steal a gem _and_ return said stolen gem. But that doesn't admonish the fact that he does _magic tricks_ to amuse the crowd—and usually at the expense of any of his chasers, well, except for one. And that exception is named _Edogawa_ _Conan_, or as the media have taken to dub him as the _Kid Killer._

Like any other heist, the Taskforce finds themselves unable to move due to another well-laid trap. (The same goes for one high school detective, Hakuba Saguru.)

Then, like the magician he is, Kid uses a trick that involves doves, until a black cat suddenly leaped out of Edogawa's hoodie, reaching for the birds, startling both Kid and the boy—though Hakuba notes that Edogawa actually looked more exasperated than actually shocked by the actions.

Which resulted in Kid somehow getting a spray bottle to spray on both Edogawa and his cat—and the boy, much to the Taskforce's wounded pride, likely couldn't dodge because he was cornered into it when he reached for his cat—and to the scene right now.

"You're the one that brought the beast here! I knew I should've taken precautions when I found out—"

"Yoshi is not a _beast_! Also, have you been following me?!"

"A beast he is! And _no_, I am not." Kid looks away, and the Taskforce stares, Nakamori could even see Hakuba's deadpan.

"Liar!" Edogawa explodes.

"Oh com'on Tantei-kun, you can sense my presence whenever I'm near! The fact that you didn't say something about that first is proof that I didn't!" _Edogawa can do _what_ now?!_

"I _know _you did! You used your birds! Don't think I haven't noticed them disguised as city pigeons!"

"Now, we both know you're lying. You never—" Kid pouts at him and Edogawa _smirks_. Nakamori then thinks back on the files he read on the boy and the rumors around Division 1 floating about the precinct.

"And you fell for it." Kid whines and sprays the boy with the bottle again.

"_Will you stop that?!"_ the cat yowls, and Kid scrambles away from the clearly angry cat—_where the hell did Edogawa get the soccer ba—_

_**Crack!**_

The Taskforce and Inspector stare when they saw the ball _kicked by an elementary student_ dig into the cement wall, making a webbed pattern into it. Thanking the gods for not having experienced said boy's kicks and to their surprise—yet not—Kid laughs like the madman he is, turns to the boy and waving a finger at him, tutting.

"Now, now, Tantei-kun, whatever happened to your 'No-Murder' policy?" Edogawa hisses together with his cat, and Nakamori is struck with the realization of how both the cat _and_ Edogawa work together, like a _predator_.

"Who says I'm going to murder you? Now stay _still_." another soccer ball from nowhere (_where does the kid keep getting them?!_) and Kid laughs again, _does he have no self-preservation?!_

"A~and that's my cue." Kid bows after dodging the ball that was sent zipping his way, so fast that Nakamori swore the ball _glowed_ with an afterimage. Kid grins, turning around then, says "Catch~!" while _tossing_ a _500 million_ diamond up into the air and towards the boy, who scrambled to catch it, the cat also letting out a strangled yowl before it seemingly glares at Kid.

"Sadly, it's not to my liking, ta-ta~" and the thief takes off—

"You—" Edogawa growls then hisses before another soccer ball—_seriously, how many of those does he have?!_—appears with a noise of it being inflated in an instant, and the ball is speeding after Kid's glider—who, of course, swerves just enough for it to miss. Laughing all the way as he disappeared.

"Yoshi." they all watched with amazement, slight awe and wonder as the boy crouches down wiping some drops of water off the cat staring into the cat's eyes before he nods, and to their utter disbelief; the cat struts towards them, claws unsheathed. The cat swipes at a piece of string, and the ropes around them loosened, setting them free.

They all stared even as Edogawa sighs, cutting through the other traps to set their fellow officers free.

Despite their silence, they all knew they had the same thoughts as they stared.

_What in the world just happened?!_

…

'_The other humans around you are stupid.'_ Conan inwardly groans, but grunts his reply.

_You sound happy._

'_Of course, my human is sooo smart!'_ and this is why he never wanted to have a cat, _unfortunately_, Ran finds their dynamic too interesting to let it go. It doesn't help that whenever Kogorou protests Ran brings up the fact that Conan's parents are paying the man _monthly_; more than necessary to cover for Conan's funds—the fact that his parents somehow found out about the cat—added more funds to accommodate for the cat.

_That doesn't comfort me in the slightest._ Conan mentally slaps himself for whining, and the cat whips to him almost immediately.

'_Why not?! Don't you like compliments? Is it because the other humans are always bullying you? I swear I don't have such malicious intent like them…!'_ Conan listens half-heartedly as the cat fusses over him, sure the blue-eyed cat meant well—but he can be a bit too overbearing at times.

'_Shin'chi! Listen to me… I swear you're the best human there is, well considering that my previous human was murderer, worse she killed her own mate—'_ Conan snorts.

'_Are you happy now?'_ Yoshi yips at him and if a cat could beam, this one surely is. And Conan wonders if he has been spending too much time with the fox family that has taken to follow him around, going away at times to tend to the Kudou garden. Or if the Ojos Azules is a mixed breed with a fox.

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(July 3, 2019: Yeah… that… don't ask.**

**This one on the other hand, has no plot. **_**Yet.**_

**a.k.a I have no idea how to spin this. Also, **_**yes**_**, inspired by sylph_feather's Curiosity Made the Cat. But as cute as a Cat!Conan and as interesting as a Furry!Shin'ichi is, I really cannot deal with the medicinal-background trouble it'll bring me later on, even if I tend to skim on such details.**

**But I found the part where Shin'ichi as Catastrophe having hordes of cats behind him **_**adorable**_**.**

**I don't discriminate animals! Wouldn't it be cute if **_**cute**_** Cone is surrounded by animals three times his size?! That would be **_**epic! **_

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


	19. RI19:A Thousandth Benefit of an Only Son

**|A Thousandth Benefit of an Only Son|**

(Random Idea 19)

Kaito stares.

Kaito couldn't help but stare at one of the transfer students—this is the third time they had transfer students _in their class_, only this time, they got five—

—and _what the hell, that's Tantei-kun!_—and he stares even further at the bespectacled teen, then he recalls the other detective teens that also follow Edogawa Conan around, and immediately identifies the Teen Detective group that's been the talk of the town. It was hard to miss talks about them when they have been steadily gaining attention as detective prodigy-children.

Especially _Tantei-kun_.

They have been followed by the news and the police throughout their growth. He'd heard that Kudou Yuusaku, Hattori Heiji, and the now-retired Sleeping Kogorou had coached them, not only that, they had unique gadgets that were simply every kid that wanted to play _spies_ to have. _Only_ they didn't play spies, they were the real definition of it. They _didn't_ play, they took to their detective roles seriously.

Of course, by the time they were almost in middle school, their fanbase exploded and gained more numbers that were usually only found on celebrities. As a group they had a fanbase, individually they also had a fanbase. And Kaito wouldn't be ashamed to admit that he is part of that populous for the group and one of the rabid fangirls for one Edogawa Conan.

The moniker, _Tantei-kun_ had been given by the infamous _Kaitou KID_ when the man still pulled off heists for the seven-year-old Edogawa Conan. And as much as Kaito wanted to say that Kaitou KID pulled off heists regardless of the boy's attendance, re-watching the old clips showed just how much his fa—_Kaitou KID_ favored the boy.

And now, the whole _Detective Boys—_unofficially turned into _Teen Detectives_ are here in front of the class, a couple of months after the start of the class.

Last he heard they attended a middle school in Osaka—for a change of pace, they said. Though like in their childhood how they kept popping up in different regions and prefectures, they still traveled around and solved cases. While their attendance wasn't perfect, they weren't doing too poorly either, they were also geniuses in their own right.

—also, it explained the five blank seats, two rows behind him.

"Ah… so, I'm certain everyone knows—" _Haibara Ai_ smiles slightly at their teacher—and Kaito could hear the woman stutter to a stop with a flush—and he understands, because if Ayumi was the local, adorable Japanese Goddess, Haibara Ai leaned on the foreign, beautiful Goddess.

(_According to the fanbase._)

"As much as it pains me to acknowledge it, I'm certain all of you may have already known or heard of us, but for formalities sake; My name is Haibara Ai…" she nods, and the others' follows her lead like a trained young Police Detectives, introducing themselves to their superiors and peers.

"My name is Tsubaraya Mitsuhiko."

"My name is Yoshida Ayumi,"

"I'm Kojima Genta!"

"And, I am Edogawa Conan…" Kaito flinches when the class practically explodes in giggles, but neither of the five teens was fazed, in fact, they continued as if nothing happened.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ekoda High."

"Please take care of us." they all bowed at the same time, and as soon as they rose, the teacher took the lead back.

"If anyone wants to ask any ques—" as expected, the woman hasn't even finished her statement, almost everyone had risen their hands—though when the boys saw Akako raise hers, regally as possible, they almost immediately lowered theirs.

_Of course, Akako would get picked first_.

"Yes, Koizumi-san?" Akako rises, elegant as can be as if she owned the world—and knowing the witch, she most likely thought so. And Kaito notes that all of the Teen Detectives, together with the class stares at her. But there was something odd with how the Teen Detectives focused onto her—and he realizes with a start, they were looking at her as if they were preparing to be interrogated and to interrogate—no one noticed, not with their poker faces. And each of them had varying styles, Haibara and Edogawa both have serious depictions—only Edogawa seemed more welcoming, Tsuburaya smiled gently, while Yoshida had an easy welcoming and inviting smile, while Kojima seemed like he was just welcoming everyone to his presence.

And despite being celebrities since their childhood, neither felt arrogant. Sure, they're confident, but that was it, neither was too arrogant or felt like they had their reputation go to their heads. And speaking of heads, Kaito notes how Ayumi's ears are pierced with a neutral and dull looking pair of earrings, when he'd actually expected bright colored ones, instead of just a plain looking silver.

And from the shade, it wasn't even genuine silver—was it just him or was there a small faint scar outline on Yoshida's neck?

Then he notes, Kojima has a matching earring around one of his ears—and he's pretty sure that's against the rules, but from what he heard Kojima had the delinquent depiction of their group—but it wasn't just him, even both Edogawa and Tsuburaya had matching earrings, and when Haibara shifted, a glint from behind her hair showed the same…

…that meant, those earrings weren't for fashion, they were for function and practical use. Likely one of their famous unique gadgets.

Not only that he could also make out a faint scar on Edogawa's forehead, cleverly hidden by his fringe—and knowing their occupation, and how they are shown looking ragged, cut up or bandaged up at times, it wouldn't be the only nor the last of their scars.

"Last we heard you were attending, Osaka Middle School. Any particular reason why you transferred here in Ekoda?" then he notes how Tsuburaya and Kojima flushed a bit before it went away and all of their body language shifts for a while before Edogawa speaks—none of the usual signs shows that he's affected by Akako's allure.

"One could say we are here for the change of scenery, while that is partly true—we didn't come here to take a break from our jobs either, we're here to learn like all of you. And we hope that we don't have to exercise our skills here at the institute." _Ahh_, Kaito had heard about that, in Osaka, a student had committed two random murders, just to see if they could catch him. He could still remember how Yoshida had been crying on live television, while the other four glared at the cameramen and nearly everyone at the scene.

It was also the first time he saw Edogawa silently mad, eyes sharp and cold as if they been replaced by glaciers.

"But the actual reason was—" Edogawa shifts again, and Haibara picks it up without hesitation, there wasn't even any awkward pause.

"—us throwing darts on a map, it just landed here on Ekoda—well…" she juts her hip and Yoshida giggles.

"…technically, it landed on the sea next to Ekoda—and it was close enough, so we decided~" she speaks brightly, a tilt of her head and Kojima grins.

"Why not transfer 'ere fer middle school?" he leans his weight on the left and Tsuburaya adds politely.

"It seemed logical at that time too. Any other questions?" Akako nods.

"May we know the reason why you decided to transfer?" that was true, despite their actions, and rumors of cutting classes for a case, or missing classes because of a case. Osaka Middle School never complained—and that was true if they were blooming to be the next generation of police detectives, who were they to stop progress?

Even the Institute of Teitan's strict attendance policy was willing to accommodate. But they still transferred.

Curious himself, Kaito pays attention—while it was a downer that it was simply due to luck that they picked Ekoda High, it also felt a lot like fate. However, he was also wondering about the reasons for their transfer. And he notes that their body language shift again—and he's seen them stay still in front of the press conference on live television for _hours_, why were they shifting so much? It couldn't be the stares, almost everyone stared at them during the conference, and there was even a larger number of people.

Then Edogawa sighs exasperatedly for some reason.

"Heiji-niichan was getting annoying, and transferring to Teitan High was pretty much the same—with Sonoko-neechan frequently visiting for the drama club. So, we agreed that it couldn't hurt to move to a completely new prefecture. Choices were Nagano, Gunma, and Ekoda." he shrugs, but that wasn't why he sighed, Kaito couldn't help but note.

"And you decided on Ekoda? Why not Nagano?" someone from the class speaks, and Akako nods as if she agreed with the question.

"Nagano…" Tsuburaya trailed off, glancing at Edogawa who seems to deadpan as if he's questioning his life right now. "…we did get an offer from one of the Inspectors to live with his family. But it felt like we were intruding too much, and we believed that it would have dampened the independence experience. So we decided against it." Kaito believed them, but that didn't sound like the only reason.

"What about Gunma?" all of them suddenly echoed their body languages and Edogawa groans.

"_No…_ just… _no_." Yoshida laughs, and they all seem to discuss and whisper amongst themselves, and Kaito swore he could make out: _"No, I can't deal with __**him**__ on a daily basis, please. I swear, Ayumi-chan I just finally curbed that out of you guys, don't waste it."_

And Kaito wonders who was the person that could entice such a reaction.

"Anything else, Koizumi-san, right?" Haibara asks, and for a moment, Kaito swore he saw how Akako seemed to _jealously_ and minutely glare at the tea-blonde haired teen.

"I believe that's my only questions, and yes, I am Koizumi Akako, a pleasure to meet you." and Kaito stares at how all of them seem to perk up another shift in body position, side glances before they nod at her, and Akako seats herself. They entertained three more questions before the teacher interrupted and told them to take their seats—and Kaito nearly tenses when Edogawa walked right next to him, staring at him and blinking as if bewildered while the other detectives followed. But neither said anything.

…

At lunch, Kaito expected it when nearly everyone but Akako, Aoko and Hakuba crowded that detectives, speaking excitedly, and asking questions.

"I'm surprised you haven't pulled anything, Bakaito~" as if he could try a prank to gather attention—not when he wanted to observe them for now.

"Of course not." he gripes—though, he might have to join the crowd, because the seat Yoshida chose was rigged by a trap he hadn't removed, in fact, all five seats were rigged with similar traps on the first day of class. Ones he didn't bother to remove since no one tried anything on the seats yet. The ones on Tsuburaya and Kojima were in the same state. But he saw both Edogawa and Haibara pause, swipe at something before taking a seat.

Yoshida didn't really deserve such mean prank—

—silence. The group had silenced, as if they were stunned into it, including Aoko, who looked past behind him with a wide-eyed look, including Akako and Hakuba.

Curious he turns around only to see Edogawa right there, and in his hand are the five traps, now disabled. Edogawa stared on, lips tilted and awfully amused.

"I believe these are yours?" he asks, and Kaito could do nothing but nod dumbly, hands outstretching to pick up the brilliantly disabled traps. "Had you changed the string I wouldn't have noticed, but as you didn't… I did. Also, from the light dust covering on it, this was likely planted on the first day of class, right?" Kaito nods again.

"You might have to reconsider though, thankfully, I stopped Mitsuhiko from triggering his, he gets easily allergic to certain dyes, so, do consider if you plan on pranking him soon."

"What in the—_Did I just hear you right, Conan-kun? I'd prefer not to be pranked at all, or do you want me to call Satoshi-kun?_" Edogawa then whips around, and Kaito doesn't need to see to know that Edogawa glared at the other teen.

"Mitsuhiko, you wouldn't dare!"

"I don't want to be pranked! Why would you even tell him that?!" next to him, Kojima snickers, while Haibara shakes her head and Yoshida giggles.

"You were the one that got the wrong facts into Satoshi's head!"

"Oh really? You getting along with older officers kinda gave the wrong impression, I'm sorry if Conan-kun's only attracted to older men." Kaito stared, wishing that Edogawa wasn't facing away from him because he could see the red flush on the other teen's ears.

"I am not! How does communicating with the officers and establishing connections get considered as attraction?!"

"So, Conan-kun _is_ attracted to other men!"

"I didn't say that!"

"You didn't deny it!"

"How did you even get that ridiculous idea?!"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe offering your relative's house that was entrusted to you, because you just met a handsome undergraduate student on a case that liked Holmes?" Edogawa flushes even more, already protesting. And Kaito blinks, _finally_ acknowledging the context of their argument, and could feel himself heating up—and an elbow is suddenly jabbing lightly on his side, he turns only to find Aoko wiggling her eyebrows at him. Face awfully close, and all-too-smug.

"Hear that Kaito? You have a chance with the ever famous _Kid Killer_~" Hakuba chokes and splutters right next to him, while Akako whips to face her with a bewildered gaze, and he notes how the light yelling of the two detectives had stopped, and he could feel his hair prickling on the back of his neck. He didn't want to look, but he had to—twitching, he turns around only to feel his face warming.

_Aoko had been way too loud._

Haibara seems to be even more amused, Yoshida had turned to the other side with her hand clamped around her mouth as if in vain effort to keep from laughing out loud, but her shaking shoulders gave it away. Kojima chuckles to the other side, while Tsuburaya seems to be absolutely smug, two fingers make its way to his lips and he _whistles_.

"Would you look at that Conan-kun~ another admirer~" he whistles again, and Kaito feels his face warm even more. Thankfully he wasn't the only one because Edogawa looks at him, face awfully red before he looks away. "Can I sense romance in the air?!"

Edogawa whips to turn to his friend, spluttering.

"We _just_ met! I haven't even gotten his name!" then suddenly, hands are pulling him off his seat, pushing him forward then forcing him to bow in front of Edogawa, and Aoko is suddenly talking over them.

"This idiot's name is Kuroba Kaito!" he tries to struggle, but the girl keeps her grip tight, just as he's about to prank her there and then. Edogawa speaks.

"Ah, Toichi-san's son, a pleasure to finally meet you." Aoko's grip falters, and Kaito snaps up.

"You know my father?" Edogawa blinks but he nods.

"We worked together." and that silences everyone and Kaito…

Kaito wants to drag the boy away—so he does, and Aoko lets him. Even if the other detectives followed after them, quickly excusing themselves.

_Because if Edogawa worked together with his father then…_

…_that was when Edogawa was still a child, like Kaito._

**|To Be Continued…|**

* * *

**(June 19, 2019: Oh my god, please don't ask about the title, I've been wrenching and trying to wring it from the deepest depths of the abyss that is my mind, and I've gotten a blank. This was supposed to be a fanfic; wherein Shin'ichi's (and his age group) are actually 10-years-older than Kaito, Aoko and the others… but… my mind decided this one isn't important and deleted everything I thought up on it.**

**And I didn't take any notes, so, yeah technically my fault right there… but then again… ugh, I really don't wanna break my streak. I'll give this a few days, but as of now, I'll just write a bit of it, and go to other ideas to update their previews. Or expand on them, who knows.**

**July 3, 2019: I still can't remember much. Damn it. [**_**Says she doesn't remember much but has at least over a thousand words for it.**_**]**

**July 11, 2019: Someone asked (in FFN), and I have no way to respond to them, and I don't like updating within chapters (because it's hell to edit in FFN, though I **_**do**_** edit at times. But I think it'll be unfair to update the compilation when there's not a new chapter update) **

**If this is you, **_**yes**_**, I **_**do**_** take Idea suggestions (trust me, most of my ideas are my so-called "**_**friends'**_**" abuse of my passion and obsession with writing, story-telling, curiosity, and over-active imagination), it may take a while for it to be implemented, because out of 53 ideas, only 18 (including this one) are out, Idea 11 is currently a Placeholder, but I do have a preview up-coming for it, which was previously a scrapped idea.**

**And who knows, maybe I might just add it as a detail to my already there but not completely tailored out fics, or it's already been suggested by my friends and is just in the waiting list. But I'll let you know! (In the end notes of the next chapter—if you can respond/leave a review before I update RI20.)**

**Until the next update!**

—**DescriptivePessimism-DAA)**


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